Writing About It

Did you know that an Ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain? I didn’t. Interesting fact. I actually know some people like that. Starfish have no brains. I know some people like that too. Okay, just kidding. About knowing people like that. The other things are true. I think.

I have been doing research for a presentation. . The theme of the conference is “from farm to fork to facebook”. The internet has become a major and integral part of life. From medicinal diagnosis to recipes to social media to marketing to interesting but useless facts as shown above. Sounds interesting. Now to figure out what my presentation will look like.

I have made an important discovery this week. Something useful. Something helpful. I have heard about it in the past but never got into it. Although some would argue, and I might concur, that this blog is a big step towards what I am about to share.

In the past I have often talked about “talking about it”. I am a strong believer in having the ability to talk about issues that are affecting your life. Issues, events, situations that are dragging you down. I have a tendency to bottle up these feelings which has an incredible negative impact on my life. It makes me depressed, anxious, morose, and filled with regrets. Perhaps there are issues that I need to make sense of or come to grips with before I talk about them. I have discovered a new tool that works really well.

I am talking about journaling. I have found through research, and now with personal experience, that journaling can be a big help in stress management. A help in getting rid of unwanted thoughts and feelings. As I did my research I came across the following information. “Journaling can be used for stress reduction. It has been proven to improve mental and physical health. It can lead to increased self-esteem.” The information went on to say that “In addition writing in a journal is an effective tool for use in the healing process.” (this information and more can be found at www.tinybuddha.com ) There are many other websites that provide good information on how to journal and the effects of journaling.

So I have started. This week I woke up one morning in poor state of mind. I had not slept well. I was facing a long day of driving and meeting with people who I knew would be difficult to deal with. My mind was still going at a brisk rate thinking about things that had been dragging me down for some time now. On top of this I knew that I needed to think about my upcoming presentation. So early that morning, as I was having my first cup of coffee, I pulled out my journal and began writing. Put down on paper all these thoughts that were racing through my mind. As I wrote I felt my brain slowing down. I felt my body begin to relax. It was a surreal experience. And as I drove the highways and byways of Manitoba I found myself being able to concentrate on tasks at hand. Not the normal “stinking thinking” that usually dominate my mind when I spend a lot of time driving.

So write about it. Make it a daily occurrence. I know I will. Now back to my presentation. Did you know that you burn 150 calories an hour banging your head against the wall? I must be losing weight. I suspect there are better weight loss programs out there. Now I am curious who does the research for these interesting, but useless facts. Perhaps I won’t go there. Do something a little more productive. Make it a good one.