What are Morning Pages & How it Helps With Mental Wellness
February 09, 2021
Have you recently heard about journaling or writing morning pages as a healthy way to start the day? If you have heard a bit and want to start, but don't know exactly where to begin, you're at the right spot. We will discuss what morning pages are, what are the benefits, and how can we start.
What Are Morning Pages?
To put it simply, morning pages are a stream of thoughts that you put into words in a journal first thing every morning. The idea is to to try to get up and handwrite three pages of any thoughts that come out of your head to help unleash your creativity for the day.
Benefits of Morning Pages
Taking the time to write morning pages can do wonders for your mental well-being. Here are four ways implementing this activity first thing each morning can do to benefit you:
1. Clears Your Mind
Sometimes you wake up in the morning with your mind filled with thoughts from the previous day. Taking the time in the morning to jot down those thoughts helps you spill it out onto the blank pages of your notebook where it will no longer take up precious space in your brain. In this way, you are able to approach your day with more clarity.
2. Helps Process Emotions
At times, life is filled with overwhelming anxieties. In addition, we are all very connected to our electronic devices which also bombard us with heavy news and other static that can weigh us down and stress us out. Taking the time to write your morning pages can give you the time and space to grieve and express yourself in ways you can't normally. In this way, you can free your mind from all the negative information that is weighing you down.
3. Unleashes Your Creativity
Since it requires discipline to make the time to wake up early to write your morning pages, when you put forth that effort, you find yourself with time to plan that project you always wanted to get done or formulate ideas for upcoming events that you'd like to arrange. This morning time allows you to finally make time for your creative self. In this way, you will find that it become easier to come up with creative ideas throughout the day.
4. Boosts Positive Vibes
We are our worst critics. For some of us, it can be worse. Some days we may feel paralyzed by all the negative thoughts we feel about ourselves and yet have no where to unleash it out. Morning pages can help us vent it all out onto paper and also to think through as to why we feel that way. Once we use this channel to express all those negative pent up feelings bottled up inside us, it can help us start the day on a better note and feel good about ourselves.
So How Do I Start?
Although this is a simple exercise - just write three pages of anything - at times you may hit a rock and have a mental roadblock as to what to write. So with those of us just starting out, we may need that extra push to help guide us into starting our morning pages. Here are a few prompt ideas to get your into your morning pages.
1. Dreams
Think hard about what happened last night in your dreams. Try to write it down when it's still fresh in your memory. What did you remember? Was it just a certain feeling or was it certain conversation? How did you feel after waking up? Is it easy for you to recall your dreams? Do you get dejavu dreams?
2. What You Want to Accomplish Today
Think about your day's events. What is the most important thing you need to get done. What are you worried about and why? What are you looking forward to? How would you like your day to go about?
3. Vent it Out
Is there anything that you are bottling up inside that's hurting you? For example, are you upset at someone or feeling bitter over a situation that's happened, or you're disappointed at a friend? You can take this time to write it in your morning pages. This can help you think out the situation more clearly and help you to let go of any resentment or frustration.
4. Procrastination
Do you have a list of things you need to get done? What is it? Why do you think you keep putting it off? What is holding you back from getting started? How do you plan to get this project moving forward?
5. Affirmations
Take the time in the morning to give yourself some well-deserved compliments. What do you feel good about yourself today? What do you want the world to notice about you? Write down all the areas you like about yourself.
6. Motivational Words
Think of a word or phrase that you can say or think to yourself to give yourself strength and confidence throughout your day. For example you can think, "I've got this." or "Laugh it off." whenever you feel stressed or find yourself in a tense situation.
