Self-Care | Uniquely Yours Craft Journal

Good Intentions

08 Jan 2020 Comments Off on Good Intentions

by uniquelyyourscraftjournal in Mindfulness, Paper Daydreams, Perspectives, Self-Care Tags: positive mindfulness, Self-Care

Dear Fellow Journalers,

You know that saying, “life is full of good intentions?” Well, I started out with pen and paper in hand and then old habits reared their heads. It wouldn’t hurt to just check out e-mail would it? Just for tonight? The more excuses you make the more the intention (habit) fades away and before you know it you’re back doing exactly what you wanted to stop!

I knew the benefits of mindfulness (see past posts) so I didn’t have to talk myself into a new way of thinking. I didn’t want to be affected by the angst in the world yet there I was reading about it BEFORE I turned out the light! So much for that idea, I thought to myself.

Before you make a resolution you have to think it through. I read that statement once in a self-help book and it held a lot of water for me at the time. I needed to go slowly down the path. Baby steps get you where you want to go but slowly. There is a great ad on tv these days about quitting smoking featuring an animated turkey that is dressed in hilarious outfits who slowly “kicks” the habit of smoking with the aid of the product being promoted. Well, if a turkey can do “it” (whatever “it” is to you) than I guess you and I can go slowly too.

The next step is to show myself some compassion. What is my current situation? I have to find what works and makes me more comfortable. If I stop reading the newspaper every day (except for the headlines will that help my peace of mind?

Is there someone else I know that feels the same way I do? We all need buddies to travel the road with us.

Have you ever been in a situation where the triggers to your “habit” rears its head and you sucked into the “rabbit hole?” It might be a slice of chocolate cake in the break room at work or a new book that has just been published and you just have to buy it. How do you conquer triggers? I ‘re-discovered music.

~Sallie

Self-Care, a new start

01 Jan 2020 Comments Off on Self-Care, a new start

by uniquelyyourscraftjournal in Self-Care Tags: Self-Care, Sizzix

Dear Fellow Journalers,

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had about all I can take of the negativity, hatred, suspicion, and downright meanness exhibited in the world right now. It seems that almost everyone I meet (family, friends, and complete strangers) are affected by the destructive behaviors of others. While many may start their “New Year’s Resolutions” to get healthy or fix relationships I decided to ” be gentle with my feelings”. I can’t fix the world but I can do something to fix some of my problems that are brought on by my reactions to the world’s chaos.

My Self-Care Journal will hopefully help in this regard. I decided to write in it all year. 2020 is not only the beginning of a new year but the beginning of a new decade, one which I hope to survive. Being a “sexy senior citizen” over the age of 70, this decade will be one of challenges and changes so what better time to start than right now!

In a way, a “Self-Care Journal encompasses every other personal journal. I decided to focus on my health first and so to that end I began my journey. I have habits like all the rest of you! Some of mine are good, some not so much! I mean reading and eating chocolate are good, right-but probably better in moderation.

I bought a die-cut 2 weeks ago which will, I hope, help me in my creative goals and also my Self-Help goals as well. This journal has sections I can create that will divide my journey and which I will share at a later date.

For now though, I decided to take my journal to bed instead of my Kindle and set up an alarm app so that I get 7-8 hours of restorative sleep. I’m still working on the chocolate angle -maybe next week…

~Sallie

Self-Care Kit

12 Jun 2019 1 Comment

by uniquelyyourscraftjournal in Self-Care Tags: Self-Care

Dear Fellow Journalers,

A Self-Care Kit is great thing for yourself and for others who are struggling. Sometimes when we do for others we end up healing ourselves too. You can use a basket or a decorative box. The items are anything that brings comfort and care.

So, some of those things are:

Weighted blanket or throw
Inspiring mug
Funny book
Essential oil
Journal
(In our case, a new pen)
Stuffed animal (I know!)
Headphones
Chocolate
Tea
Coloring book
Something personal

~Sallie

Self Discovery activities

29 May 2019 Comments Off on Self Discovery activities

by uniquelyyourscraftjournal in Self-Care Tags: Manifesto

Dear Fellow Journalers,

Someone once said “it’s not enough to talk the talk, you have to walk the walk”. In other words, if you are really serious about discovering who you are then you have to put on your discovery hat and go for it!

One of the ways to enhance your growth is to write in a journal. But you are already doing that! Another way is to write a Personal Manifesto. Simply put, you describe your core values and beliefs, the specific ideas and priorities that you stand for and how you plan to live your life. This document will help frame your life, point you in the right direction to help you achieve your goals and become more attuned to becoming your real self.

To get started ask yourself questions that require more than “yes or no answers such as what things do I stand for? How do I want to live my life? What type of mentors or friends do I need to help me on this path I have chosen?

Print out your Manifesto and refer to it every day.

~Sallie

Books and your life

22 May 2019 Comments Off on Books and your life

by uniquelyyourscraftjournal in Self-Care Tags: books, Personality traits

Dear Fellow Journalers,

Does what you read “for pleasure” tell you something about your personality? Oscar Wilde once wrote “It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines who you will be when you can’t help it”. In essence, I think, we seek specific reading content that reflects our identities and views. There was a study that examined the connection between personality and people’s favorite books. It was based on the Big 5 Personality Traits:

Openess (those people who are creative, imaginative, curious and adventurous) Those people tended to read books that stimulated their intelligence and mostly read non-fiction, art books and some classics.

Conscientiousness (those people who were thoughtful, organized, goal-orientated) Those people tended to read religious, and books in their career field.

Extroverts (those people who were sociable, expressive, talkative, outgoing.) Those people read books about relationships, memories and autobiographies.

Agreeableness ( those people who were kind, trusting, cooperative) Agreeable people read mostly books about relationships, faith-based and family drama.

Neuroticism (Neurotic people tended to have mood swings, lots of anxiety issues and are stressed a lot of the time. These people read to escape their lives so sci-fi books are high on their agenda.

In my view our tastes in books change over time like our lives. When I was young I loved to read adventure stories. As a teenager, I read all the Nancy Drew books and of course, “The Little House” books. I was introduced to “Black Beauty by my Grandmother and so began my “love affair with horses and western. I admit freely that I liked most of “the required reading”books of high school and college (“Rebecca” and Tale of Two Cities” to name a couple).

If you take a look at The Good Reads column on the right side of my posts you will see a partial lit of what I m currently reading.

What does your bookcase say about you?

~Sallie