Jounaling For Farmers
Story Time
Journaling is a cheap and powerful tool to use to help mental health and wellness.
Not a “journal” in your iphone notes section.
Not a “diary” in the word doc of your laptop.
A handwritten journal.
It's cathartic to write down anything and everything.…Like a weight lifted off your chest…picture this:
Imagine you are walking around Target and you only needed one thing (eye roll) so you didn't grab a cart. Things just start piling up in your arms. Some things are glass. They are fragile and absolutely cannot be broken; think maybe a glass coffee mug or candle. Some things are a bit tougher but they will definitely dent or be impacted if they are dropped; maybe your Starbucks cake pop or a bag of apples. Other things can be dropped and picked up, and although it isn't ideal, you could drop them and everything would be okay; IE all those clothes we never intend to buy. So your arms are super full. Getting tired. You think I am definitely going to drop all of this if I cannot put it down for a second…. You start to panic a little because your hands are getting sweaty and you may just lose your grip on the candle.
Miraculously, a target employee spots you, and brings you a cart to set everything down safely before any casualties occur. You sigh a HUGE breath of relief. Take a swig of your favorite Starbucks beverage (that you saved from a huge mess because… cart) and shake out your arms for a second. GOSH IT FEELS GOOD TO TAKE A BREATH.
Ah-ha Moment
That is how it feels to journal. That feeling of freedom and relief when you no longer have to carry everything all by yourself. Sure all that stuff may still be yours, and you may need to (or unnecessarily try to) carry it all to your car and into the house in one trip but first you can organize it. Prioritize it. Maybe even reduce the load… for instance you won’t take the Starbucks into the house because you’ve finished it. Dealt with it. Threw it in the trash and forgot about it. One thing to not have to carry.
You can release your feelings onto the pages.
Process hard shit that you don’t really want to admit is bothering you– except that you cannot for the life of you forget about it or stop bringing it up in arguments or you hold it against the person even though you promised you had forgiven them.
Brain dump that extensive to do list.
Or just use it as a time to be INTENTIONALLY grateful for all that your life has to offer right now in this very moment.
Execution
Did I convince you to think about it?
SUPER. Love to hear it. Now EXECUTION. How do we accomplish this? Let’s make it doable.
Find a time when you have 10-20 minutes of alone time.
I prefer the morning. This lets me start my day with a fresh head. Any feelings/ worries/ concerns that may be left from yesterday or that have already inhabited my head as soon as I woke up (#momlife) can be on that paper.
Perhaps it’s a post morning chore thing while you enjoy a second (okay third) cup of coffee. Occasionally I find myself journaling at night if I am in a stressful or overwhelming season of life. It helps me to sleep better if I can get things out of my head. Find a time that works for you most days.
Next step is to just start. Grab a super cute prompted journal or a cheap composition notebook and just start.
This can be intimidating.
”WTF am I supposed to write about. This feels stupid. I'm done. “
And before you start the practice can be over.
Fear not my friend…. Here are some prompts to get you started:
How are you feeling today? Physically? Emotionally? Mentally? Are you tired, heavy, and drained? Why are you feeling that way?
If there was one event in your life that you could relive and do differently, what would it be and why?
Write a letter to your 10 year old self. What are you doing today that your kid self dreamed of? Would 10 year old you be proud of who you are today? Would you have looked up to the kind of person you are today?
List ten things you are grateful for and why. Be specific. Can you show your gratitude to any of those things or people today? Do they know that they made the list?
What is one goal you are working towards right now? What is one 5 minute task you can do today to get closer to that goal? What’s holding you back from getting there? Why are you chasing that goal?
What is one experience that you wish every single person in the world had the chance to experience? Why? What did it bring to your life?
What grudges are you holding onto? What happened? Why are you still holding on to the grudge? Is the person on the other end asking for forgiveness? Should they be? What would it look like to release that grudge and forgive them?
Plan out your ideal day in your perfect life. What is a piece of that you can start implementing into your days now.
What are you stressing out about this week? Why? What is the worst thing that can happen? Can we plan for that? Can we plan to avoid it? Can you ask for help? What needs to happen for you to release this stress?
What is a feeling or emotion you would like to embody today? Are there any specific moments that you know will test that feeling? How can you plan to avoid being derailed or how to come back to the plan as quickly as possible?
What do you want people to remember you for? What will people say in your eulogy? What do you WANT them to say? Are you on your way to becoming the person you want to be remembered for? Are you being that person to the best of your abilities TODAY? If you died tomorrow, what would people say? Are you proud of that? Why or why not?
What are you celebrating today? Little or big. How can you make the habit of celebrating more? Many of us dreamed about the life we have now, for years and years. Yet we never acknowledge it. How can you remind yourself not to take this life for granted?
Whether you use every single journal prompt or you pick and choose or use the same one every day, I hope you start to feel the benefits of using a journal to process your thoughts and emotions.
Do Something for You
For many of us, we were taught to rub some dirt in it and move on; there are chores to be done. But that does not change that farmers and ranchers carry a lot. Our arms are full. And many of those things we carry are breakable. It cannot hurt to put down what we can in a journal.
Reprocess an old or current trauma or experience.
Get over a heartache whether it be induced by human, animal or otherwise.
Release a bit of stress and anxiety into the pages and make a plan for any situation.
Simply take a bad thought and make it neutral. Let the pen suck the poison out of your body.
We live in a fast paced world. We try to keep up with the neighbors and the farmers across the world. We want to carry as much as possible while looking like we are as light as a feather. It’s not realistic. It’s okay to hurt and need some help.
But I get it. Asking can be hard.
HELLOOOOO, been there done that… hence why I started this blog in the first place….
Journaling can be an easy start to taking a step toward taking care of you, toward feeling better.
Towards carrying less and loving this life just a little bit more.
