So today I'm writing about how I learned some things that helped me advance my career in mental health and my life as a whole. I am also going to give you a sneak peek into my experiment technique to create some added improvements.
I'm currently thinking about when I started journaling about 10 years ago when I moved across the country. I learned how it changed my outlook. Not only that, but I feel like it changed the way I work. When I was working in mental health, you know, actually in the office, it helped me sort through the feelings of stress related to all the paperwork and red tape I experienced. I, of course, suggested it to clients all the time after I realized its benefits. Whether they used it or not was a different story, but at least I was able to recommend it and hoped that it would help them in their daily lives.
The second thing I learned was to plan my day. Now, I know I don't always do this, and I probably should. Ithink that it helps, because I learn to advance my knowledge of what works and what doesn't work. Now, you might be wondering what I mean by that. I don't just mean what works in a time frame. I mean what works for my family and for myself, how long things really take, and where in the day that task or activity belongs. In a way, I figured out how it works by doing that. It is kind of like an experiment.
Now you may be wondering where these two things come together. I'm about to tell you. It's all about the two together. When I do something new in my routine, I jot it down in my journal. I write down the successes and the things I need to change about it. This is also where your success list comes in too. I tell you this because I want you to know that all the things I teach you come together. It's like taking all the pieces of the puzzle and putting them together. Now, once you've got all your successes and your needed changes, all you have to do is analyze like it's your data.
Now, you may be sitting there thinking, "I am not into analyzing any more data than I already have", if you're one of those college students that I happen to know. And I understand. I really do. But this is stuff about your life. And it is easy stuff. This is stuff that matters more than anything else. It is stuff that says you can do it. This is stuff that says I am succeeding at what I want to try.
I think that we should do an experiment together. The other day I wrote a post about changes. Maybe we should do an experiment on changes in everyone's life that reads this blog. In the comments below, write about a change you want to make, and write about how you want to go about doing it. Think about ways that you can use things, similar to how I use my journal and my schedule. You could use techniques or items similar to those, or even use things that are different.
So now, in the comment section, I want you to post the change that you are making. Even if it is a different change that you are making from the change you posted the other day. I want you to try to problem-solve later or in the comment section about what you are going to do for your experiment. I think that it should be fun and exhilarating. You should also find ways to laugh and just have a wonderful time. If you're trying to lose weight, make exercise fun. If you are trying to eat healthy, make vegetables tasty and enjoy cooking them. Don't make it so that cooking them is something you dread. For example, in the past, I've known people to use their calendars on their phones, not something I do. I use an actual schedule book, but a calendar app is a great way to go. Or some people use a bullet journal. I have seen people use food diaries to see if their eating habits are changing.
Now these could be a way people are doing their changes, but do you see how they could be ways of evaluating if their changes are working? Maybe if you looked at them as ways of evaluating an experiment, you wouldn't be so hard on yourself. Potentially, you could even look at it as an “it”. Just the experiment. Not if you are succeeding, but if the experiment is working. Of course, when the experiment is working, you should give yourself a pat on the back, because you are the one who is totally awesome in the equation.
Now I think you're ready. I hope you do too. If not, here is a hug from me to you.
Go now. Be safe. Know that you are not alone.