October 13th, 2024

Blogging can be part of the mindfulness routine

How an epiphany made me realise I was approaching blogging entirely wrong.

I haven’t written a blog in a while. In fact, the last time I wrote was a day before I set off for my holiday in Mexico (mid-August). Truth be told, I wanted to focus on my work. My occupation in a school is the most rewarding job I have ever undertaken, and I wanted to give it my all. Any teacher or staff member in a school will tell you — the start of an academic year is tiring (in a good way).

Living mindfully for healthy living

I am now in a state of flow where I can relax a little and look to other things being in my life. I focused on my health and mindset at the start of the academic year because I know, as autumn comes along, so do the bugs and stress-related illnesses.

My daily habits to keep healthy

Thirty minutes of exercise (minimum).
Thirty minutes of reading.
Ten minutes of journaling.
Ten to fifteen minutes of meditation.
Supplements, including zinc.
No electronic devices for one hour before bedtime.
Earlier bedtimes.

My list of things I do has kept me sane and healthy for the past fives years at the same job. In those five years, I have been off work with illness for a total of three days. Even then, I think it was a case of new school germs during the first two months of employment.

Adding writing to my mindfulness routine

I had an epiphany the other day when I was journaling. Blogging or even the act of writing is a great way to evaluate clarity in one’s life. I realised my thoughts and reflections during my journaling sessions would actually make great points of expression to blog about. In addition, the topics I could share would be a starting point for discussion. There have been many deep reflections in the past month. Why store them away for myself to read?

One noticeable trending scenario kept emerging from it all — I exhibit signs of imposter syndrome. There were multiple entries in my journal where I expressed I wasn’t good enough to write. What if readers hate my posts? What if I am successful with my writing and I have to keep writing? What if people realise I can’t actually write?

As you can imagine, these are self-defeating thoughts. If any of the statements are true, people can simply stop reading my posts. There’s nothing harmful about it. I have a day job. Writing is a hobby. No-one can get better at something when they decide to quit it.

It makes sense to write and share my thoughts in the same way I journal. This is still mindfulness at the core of what I am doing.

“You don’t have to attain perfection or mastery to be worthy of success you’ve achieved.” — Margie Warrell

What next?

No matter how short or long the posts will be, I will post them. I am a reader myself. I know I appreciate the short posts as much as the longer posts.

I will be trying different approaches to blog. There is always a difficulty to sit down and write a post in one or two sittings. I have found I get thoughts and record them in singular sentences, which are stitched together when I feel they belong together. It is now a matter of finding my feet again.