Day 8: Camp NoNoWriMo

Hello Friends! Another Monday and another new week! I will continue today with a couple more self care things I do. I have talked about apps but my very favorite app for self care and just all round favorite of all, is Daylio. I used the free version for a couple months and liked it so much that I bought it and it’s great. They keep upgrading it and adding new things. Basically, you keep track of your moods, activities, goals. With the premium version you can add an unlimited amount of activities and moods to it. You can be as specific as you want. I think the premium version is, once you pay it, you own it. I don’t think it is a yearly subscription. The stats in it are so cool too. I have been using it 219 days in a row. Also, there is a little spot for notes so if you want to write what you actually did that day, like a journal, it’s an option. I don’t always use it. I will write something down if it stands out to me and I want to remember.

I’ve talked about my Gratitude Daytimer. I bought a cute little daytimer from the dollar store and I write all my affirmations in it and every night I write down three things that I am thankful for. Like any thing, I would suggest not being too hard on yourself. I used to think I needed to be poetic and beautiful with not only my writing but what I’m thankful for. I’ve now accepted I write the same way I think and my thankfulness comes out that way too. It’s simple and to the point, usually.

I will end with the thing that has changed my mind the most. It’s called A Note to Your Next Day Self. I learned about this from Tracy Winchell. She has a great podcast called Reboots. She talks about it more as a business tool and the beautiful thing about this, is you can make it work for what works best for you. I hear so often about writing letters to our past self…in fact, I’m in the process of doing that right now as we speak but what I’m talking about is different. I find it has really helped me as I am learning about replacing negative talk in my head with positive. When I get really overwhelmed I find myself writing to my future self and reminding her that the negative voices are lies and affirm my worthiness. I don’t always read it the next day but I find it so healing to read through it because it’s all positive. I know I did a horrible explanation here. I will post a picture of a few days in my journal I’m willing to share. What I love about this is you can do it however you want.

Once again, be easy on yourself in whatever you decide to do. When I forget to write in my gratitude daytimer, I will write “oops” and maybe a heart. I don’t fret it. I learned too much in religion that it’s too hard to keep track of all the things you have to do…and then what happens….guilt. No more. I think the idea is to find things you like to do and give yourself grace. Shit happens. If you experience depression and anxiety like I do, you need to esp give yourself grace for as long as you need it. Sometimes, all I get done is my Daylio. I’m committed to that. Its easy and it tells me how many days in a row I’ve done it. That helps. Lol

ttfn

Alexis

Letting Go Cleans My Mind, Body and Soul: Steve Austin

Day 3: Camp NaNoWriMo

Wed, April 3 and Day 3 of Camp Nano. I just want to explain the reason I mentioned that no one would care in my last blog , is because I found it to be a boring a blog. I didn’t want to write that day and I felt kind of blah. I guess it was obvious. 🙂

Today I will share about self-care. I will probably take a few days for this because I don’t like to make my blogs too long. I’m one who does not read long blogs so I choose to keep my own blogs shorter. First of all, what is self care? Basically it’s taking care of yourself, however that looks to you. Something I have learned is that we are individuals, and how one person may see and use self care is different than another person would. Self care is as different from one person to another as depression and anxiety are. We can learn a lot from each other as to how we use self care but what works for me, may not work for you and that’s ok. I have been pointing my self care in the direction of learning more about myself and who I am. I do this in several different ways and some examples of those are: meditation, online classes, podcasts, reconstructing my faith, movies, journalling to name some. The truth is, I haven’t done a lot of reading in the last few years. I love podcasts way more but maybe once I get a new Kindle, I will take up reading again. I have a lot of great books I need to read and don’t get me wrong, I do read them…just not a lot. In the next few days I will talk about podcasts I like, movies I watch to “get away from it all”, apps I use for self care and the different ways I journal. I will start with the beginning of the day.

Meditation; I am still trying to get into the habit of this. I’m finding it really hard. The initial “just do it part,” is hard. Once I get over it and I’m in the spare room meditating I love it. So basically, I have to get over myself and just do it. There are two apps that I have used for meditation. They are: Insight Timer and Calm. Calm was great for showing me how to meditate and then I didn’t use it as much. I like Insight Timer because there is more to choose without buying the app. I am leaning toward paying for the premium version of it though because I am intrigued by what it offers. When I talk to others who meditate, Calm is a very popular app. There are others out there t0o but these are the ones I have experience with. I am also part of a facebook group called Quantum Life with Steve McVey and Steve has a different meditation out every week. There is a monthly cost to be part of this group. He shares some pretty mind blowing stuff that could change your life.

I know some of my Christian friends will wonder “what in the world?” Yes, I do meditate and yes, it brings me peace. A lot has changed in my over the last few years about how I see God and it has caused issues. I can’t apologize for what I believe is right and for what is bringing me peace that I have never had. In fact, you will notice God is not mentioned in here at all until this paragraph. I think humans are way smarter than we give them credit for and that we can learn a lot from each other. I also don’t think that Christians have all the answers. I will leave this quote with you from Queer Eye:

You can’t evangelize and antagonize at the same time-Mama Tammye

You can see more if you watch Queen Eye on Netflix, Season 2 Episode 1. I encourage you to watch it. My faith is still very important to me, it just looks different, feels different and is way more inclusive. To me, that makes sense.

I will end this day with one more app I use in the morning. It is called 365 Gratitude. I really liked it a lot so I bought the full version of it. I use it in the morning to write three things that I am grateful for. It asks your mood and has some great retrospect. I just really like it. It has worked will for me.

I will leave it here for now and tomorrow I will talk about affirmations. SPOILER: I LOVE affirmations! Have a great day friends. If you have any questions about the apps I have shared just let me know. Also, what apps do you use for meditation and gratitude? Share your insights here if you want to.

Ttfn

Alexis

My Spirit Is Grounded: Steve Austin