Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash
I’m not new to daily reflections, nor will this be the first time I’ve embarked on a themed challenge for an arbitrary number of days.
The first day of the new year represents new beginnings, a fresh slate – and whichever other clichés you’d like to use to symbolize an opportunity for change.
January seems like a good time to work on a skill that lately I’ve been hearing more and more about: being mindful.
Mindfulness is the act of intentionally focusing one’s attention on experiences occurring in the present moment. More than that, being mindful means noticing and accepting what is going on around without judgment.
With so many of us caught up in frustrations from the past and worries about the future, mindfulness can present a versatile tool for reducing symptoms of depression, stress, and anxiety.
What’s more interesting is that research has shown a positive relationship between trait mindfulness (the degree to which someone is mindful across different situations throughout life) and psychological health.
Being mindful doesn’t require elaborate training or long, complicated protocols. In fact, mindfulness can be achieved through activities such as meditation, journaling, and various other exercises designed to keep you in the moment and increase your awareness.
That being said…
For 100 consecutive days, I’m going to share a daily reflection on social media about something positive (rose), something negative (thorn), and something that represents an opportunity for the future (bud).
Follow my 100-day reflection challenge on Twitter (@evan_writing) and continue reading to learn more about the rose-thorn-bud exercise!
Rose, Thorn, Bud
The exercise is simple, but the pay-off can be enormous.
Rose
Reflect on something from your day that you perceived to be positive. What went well? What about today makes you happy?
Thorn
Reflect on something from your day that you perceived to be negative. What didn’t go so well? What are you upset about? What is a cause of your frustration?
Bud
Reflect on something from your day that is exciting and that shows potential for growth in the future. What motivates you? What keeps you driven when you think about moving forward? What makes you excited to wake up tomorrow morning?
Journaling
At first, you may question how journaling about something that happened earlier in the day could lead to being more mindful.
It appears that the act of sitting quietly, reflecting, and then writing down thoughts about the day can help you be more present during the times when you aren’t journaling.
The more you write in your journal, the more you notice what goes on in the day and how it can affect everything from your temperament and mood to your energy levels and outlook on life.
Spending time thinking about your day and making notes of its important moments can help you make better decisions during those same moments in the future. Oftentimes that means reacting with less emotion and not letting circumstance and the randomness of life dictate how you behave.
What’s in This for Me?
My goal is that at least one person will read this article, or see my daily reflections on social media, and decide to work towards being more mindful in their own life.
I’m not disillusioned to assume that this will reach the masses and that before summer everyone and their cousin will be meditating and journaling each night.
But this challenge is something I’ve wanted to do for a while, and the accountability that comes with putting content online for all to see is unparalleled.
Let me know what you think!
UPDATE: I stopped doing the challenge after 50 days. As much as I wanted to continue (mainly just to prove to myself that I do in fact have enough discipline to follow through on longer challenges), I started seeing the same types of reflections coming up every few days. Overall, this was an incredibly helpful challenge that I recommend everyone tries – but maybe start with 30 days and go from there.
Enjoy reading this article? Follow me on social media for more content like this! Instagram @evanbjj, Twitter @evan_writing.
