Happy New Year, everyone! I have this awesome feeling that 2019 is going to be a great year.
Over the past year, I’ve learned so much about myself, and it’s made me more aware of little-known factors to my well-being. I’m more conscious of who I am, what I value, what my weaknesses are, and what I need to stay healthy in every aspect. By practicing mindfulness, I’ve learned to think deeply about even the most basic everyday actions like eating, sleeping, and planning my daily schedule.
Millennials get a bad rap for being too sensitive sometimes. But I think to some degree, we should be more sensitive in our most basic daily actions in order to create lasting change.
Exhibit A: I used to drink way too much coffee and way too little water, and I tolerated dehydration headaches every day. I did this out of habit, without intuitively thinking about the hydration my body was actually needing, craving, and begging me to give it! When I finally stopped overriding my own senses, I realized that spending time to intentionally think about my most essential everyday actions helped me make better wellness choices in the long-run.
It took me a while to get over the New-Agey idea of logging how I felt about what I ate, my workout activities, and my sleep patterns. Like a true Midwesterner, I tend to be pretty closed off to feelings. But when I realized our bodies were designed to alert us of what we need, I listened less to what my brain was telling me to do based on habit and became more in tune with what I needed based on my uniqueness. Looking at mindfulness from this perspective not only helped me learn about myself, but it helped me to see how intricately God designed the human body.
When I realized our bodies were designed to alert us of what we need, I listened less to what my brain was telling me to do based on habit and became more in tune with what I needed based on my uniqueness.
So maybe your best friend works out 5 days a week, but your body goes into stressed-out panic mode when you try to do the same. That’s okay! Maybe you had a rough day and your emotions tell you to eat an entire jar of peanut butter. Okay, maybe not a great choice… But when you keep yourself in check by logging these actions and why you chose them, you might start to recognize patterns over time that can lead you to be more intentional with your choices in the future.
So, to ring in the New Year, I’ve created a printable to help you practice mindfulness in 2019! This daily printable journal will help you plan out your day, log your sleep, track your water intake, and log your food and exercise. (Let’s leave the calorie-tracking out of this, okay? Cool.)
Download your Mindful Living Daily Journal here!
This journal is designed to help you log how you felt beside each activity. For example, if I logged 8 hours of sleep, I might note that I felt “well-rested and energized,” compared to a previous night when I only logged 6 hours of sleep and felt “sluggish.” By reviewing previous journals, you can detect patterns that will help you make more intentional choices, like planning a bed time for adequate sleep.
Maybe you want to finally scratch that age-old New Year’s Resolution of losing weight and focus more on healthy, intuitive nutrition and exercise. (10/10 would recommend.) Be real about the foods you log and how you felt when you ate them. Did you feel satisfied? Too full or still hungry? Maybe you were eating or drinking emotionally or socially? Stay honest and accountable by logging, without obsessing over or restricting your diet. You may find that over time, you become more aware of the kinds of foods your body craves.
Make it your goal in 2019 to become more intuitive through daily journaling. Practicing mindfulness will help you realize what you need and can help you stop comparing your uniquely beautiful self to others. You will learn more about your own body and brain than ever before – it’s trying to teach you, if you’ll listen.
Much love,
Rachel
Leave a Reply