The practice I chose for this assignment was mindfulness and gratitude journaling. When I think about a gratitude journal, I think about writing about every person/thing in a book that has meaning to me or affects me in a positive way. So, for this assignment, I wrote in a journal what I'm grateful for in the space of 15 minutes every day for about 15 days. When thinking about this task, one thing I did beforehand was put my phone on Do Not Disturb, so I wouldn't be tempted or distracted, plus I really wanted the meditation process to ultimately benefit me. When I was doing this task I didn't really have a time frame, that's why all my times aren't consistent in my daily journal, I felt like when I was stressed and needed time to relax, I would write in my gratitude journal. At first I found this assignment useless and a waste of time, but as the days went by I felt more positive in my daily life and overall well-being! There have only been a couple of days where the meditation process hasn't worked for me and I'm starting to realize that it's okay that not every day is going to be perfect and that my thoughts sometimes don't go away in a few minutes, so you have to be patient and relax. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One positive result I found after a long and hectic day was when I started journaling about a specific person in my life like my boyfriend, all my negative thoughts would simply go away and my mind it would focus on him and how happy and grateful I am for him in my life. It influenced my thoughts in a positive way and also helped me stay grounded in the space around me. Another positive outcome I found would be after the 15 days I realized I am more grateful for the things I have and the people I have in my life, I often see greed and things I take for granted when they are simply passed down to me, but after writing in the gratitude journal I can never thank God enough for the things I have and even for my life on this planet, I have taken the little things for granted. A positive issue that I have become more aware of is that I will always have the people who matter most to me in my life, no matter how life goes, life could be negative and they would still support me, life can become positive and they they end up staying in my life, this was a wake up call to see who is truly important in my life and how they have changed me in a positive way. While reading about the benefits of a gratitude journal by Laura Jessen, one important point she made that stood out during the meditation process was “a gratitude journal is a safe zone for your eyes only, so you can write everything you feel without judgment." I think this point he made is true for me with my gratitude journal because I felt that while I was writing I could write about anything in my mind and not think if there is a right or wrong answer without judgment and that I would be there. I was the only one who read my diary, so it was nice to write down what I felt that day and see it reviewed day after day just by my eyes. When talking about approaches to mindfulness, one sentence that struck me was “many studies show that practicing mindfulness reduces stress leading to many health and mental health benefits.” I think this sentence got meimpressed because at first I thought this mindful approach task was useless and I didn't think it would affect me in a positive way, the more I wrote in the journal the more my stress levels and high anxiety would disappear, I feel that as the days my anxiety and stress have reduced and I also believe that gratitude journaling helps me manage my unwanted emotions and feelings. One of the main challenges I had with this assignment was trying to find time to write in my gratitude journal just because I have so many thoughts running through my mind, I found it difficult to sit down and focus on one thing in the space of 15 minutes every day for about 15 days I felt like it was a long time to be involved in an assignment, but the way I got over this was that I wasn't thinking about the 15 days because if I did, I would know I would be even more stressed and I would just relax before starting the meditation process and putting my phone on Do Not Disturb so I'm not tempted to look at my phone even though I'm a phone addict and I love my phone, I was so tempted during the 15 days . As I was reading the Mindfulness Meditation Troubleshooting Guide, one point that struck me was about unhelpful thoughts that stated, “Everyone has limiting beliefs that keep us from taking action or getting what we want. Example: I can't stop my thoughts". Some days during my meditation, when I had a lot going on in my mind, I simply continued to focus on the negative thoughts and eliminate the positive aspects that were negatively impacting me and my journaling experience, no matter how long I wrote for my diary. if I were really stressed, I would continue to carry my stress forward all the time, making me even more stressed and anxious. The way I solved this problem was that even if one day of meditation wasn't good, I hoped the next day would be better and thought about how it would be better, then the next day I prepared by listening to the sounds of nature and wearing a face mask and relaxing my nerves before I started journaling and it actually helped me stay grounded and took away my negative thoughts. The last and final negative has been running out of people to write about in my gratitude journal because at the moment the only people I have in my life are my boyfriend, my mother and grandparents, which isn't a great number of people, so as the days went by I couldn't think of anything to write about, my mind went blank, that's why some days I spent more than 15 minutes writing in my gratitude journal, but I had the feeling that the more I thought about someone and the more my negative thoughts would appear. The way I tried to overcome this problem on other days was to write a list of people the night before and then when I started my gratitude journal the next day I wouldn't have to think, the thoughts would come to me easily and I would just written In the field of social workers, we experience a lot of burnout and I really don't think we have enough time to take care of ourselves when we are always on the go, we usually put everyone and their problems ahead of us. One thing I learn from this assignment is that it is never too late to write a journal, if I am having a tough day and can't stay grounded, I will write in my gratitude journal because it seems to have a positive impact on about me and helps me stay close and grounded to the people I care about and love. I can also bring my new learning.