NIGHTLY REFLECTION

I have been implementing a nightly reflection practice that has really been helping me improve my mindset. Journaling has had a huge impact on my mental health but I always just did free writing or would use some journal prompts. My therapist suggested that I start answering a few of the same questions each night as part of a nightly reflection process. I have found that thinking about the same questions helps me stay a little more focused in my writing and has really helped me improve my mindset. Be sure to grab the free nightly reflection worksheet below.

THE BEST THINGS ABOUT TODAY WERE:

Writing out all of the good things that happen everyday has helped me retrain my brain to look for the positive things in life. Now as I go throughout the day I make a list in my phone of everything good that happens. At the end of the day I write down all of them and any others I can think of in my journal. After spending so many years of my life depressed my mind naturally looks for the bad in everything. I have a whole podcast about how I am teaching my brain to become positive even though it feels like my natural inclination is towards being negative.

I ACCOMPLISHED THESE THINGS:

I used to write a to-do list at night and it honestly gave me really bad anxiety. I would fall asleep worried about everything I needed to get done and how much stuff there was that I wanted to to do. It felt completely overwhelming and it would take me a really long time to fall asleep. Now I write a list of everything I got done that day instead of a to-do list. Shifting my focus towards what I accomplished during the day is another trick I use to teach my brain to look at the positive. Instead of thinking about everything I have to do I take pride in what I did that day. You can put anything on your accomplishment list. We tend to fill to-do lists with stuff we don’t really want to do. On your accomplishment list you can include spending time with family and friends, going to brunch, self-care via netflix or anything that you accomplished that day. We often downplay how much we get done each day and doing this every night helps me take pride in what I was able to accomplish.

I AM SO THANKFUL FOR:

Every night I make a list in my journal of what I am thankful for. When I was struggling with depression my mind constantly played everything that I didn’t like about myself and my life over and over again on a loop. Making gratitude lists has really helped me break the cycle. I added it to my nightly reflection to help me focus on what is good about my life. This is just another exercise I use to train my brain to think and feel more positive about life. I find that the more positive energy I can build up the easier it is to manage my depression and anxiety.

TOMORROW MY INTENTIONS ARE:

I like to set an intention for the next day. Usually the intentions I set are all around how I want to feel the next day. I will pick a few core desired feelings. If you want some ideas for intentions check out my post on setting daily intentions for mental health. Lately I have been feeling more stressed out than usual so my daily intentions have been around not worrying and staying in the moment. Things like; be in the moment, trust that everything will work out, celebrate this day and practicing strong boundaries are all intentions that have been helping my manage stress.

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