Memories Jar - for positive mental health

There’s a jar that I keep on my desk. In it are little slips of paper that have written on them happy moments that happen to me. I call it my memories jar. Each year on New Year’s Day (or thereabouts) I dump out my jar, read these happy notes, and start all over. 

I like the practice of having a memories jar for three reasons: 

1) Every January I get to read all of my little notes from the previous year, and that makes me happy. 

2) Seeing my memories jar on my desk every day makes me think of the things I have written down and stuffed in there, giving me a daily reminder that life is alright. 

3) Sometimes I look at my memories jar and realize I haven’t added any notes to it in a couple weeks. This causes me to reflect on recent weeks gone by, and assess what has gone well, rather than dwell on negative things. I then get my little slips of paper and play a little catch up. 

Here are some examples of notes: 

My car was backed into while I was at work by someone in too much of a rush. I had to send it away for body work (paid for by her insurance), and was given a 2012 Malibu to drive while my car was in the shop. The Malibu was a good drive, but I was very happy to get my car back. 

Sharon is my boss. She is sometimes hard to talk to. I was very surprised at her reaction to my news about teacher’s college. Not only was she excited for me, she was also very supportive and accommodating for my various requests for time off over the summer needed for preparation for the move. 

Buckle, Kim, and Melissa are coworkers of mine. It was fun seeing them let loose and dance. That was a good night. 

Well that one is self explanatory… New technology is always exciting. 

Ok, so I have a room in my apartment where I keep the ridiculous amounts of teaching supplies I use at my program. At the end of the 2012 school year, I had to empty my classroom, so I brought everything home, tossed it in that room, and closed the door. It took an incredible amount of time a dedication (neither of which I gave willingly) to get that room back to what it was before the end-of-the-year-bomb went off. I was pretty proud when it was once again clean. 

The moral of the story here: If you often find yourself feeling stressed, overwhelmed, depressed, lonely, what-have-you, find something that makes you stop and think about the good. It doesn’t have to be a memories jar, that’s just what works for me. Find a way to remind yourself that life is more than just making it through another day.