August.
Time to “finally recharge”, right?
Two or three weeks to fix what the rest of the year burns down.
Sleep, tan, smoothies, maybe some yoga or a cold plunge in the Aegean - and then? Back to the grind. Full throttle. Until Christmas.
Let’s be honest:
This idea that we can “𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬” in a few days and then be fine for months?
That’s like thinking you can go to the gym twice in summer and expect to be fit until winter.
Here’s the inconvenient truth:
𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 doesn’t come from temporary escapes.
It 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐡𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐦𝐬. From knowing how to self-regulate physically, mentally, emotionally - not just when you’re on a beach.
And no, you don’t need a spa treatment or a mindfulness app for that.
You need:
𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬 to activate your nervous system.
𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 to actually feel and process what’s going on inside you.
𝐌𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞. Reflection. Meditation.
A 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐲𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐞 that’s as consistent as brushing your teeth.
And, maybe most radically: 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.
Also – can we talk about this 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠?
“𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘺𝘴𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘔𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘔𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘡𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭.”
Yes, it’s important to understand our patterns.
But sometimes, what we really need is less labeling - and 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩.
We are incredibly privileged to even have the 𝐥𝐮𝐱𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 “𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠“.
Most humans on this planet don’t.
Let’s not use that privilege to become more self-indulgent -
but to become 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭.
So enjoy your holidays.
But don’t fool yourself.
𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 isn’t something you consume once a year.
It’s something 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞. Every. Single. Day.
With a bit of 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞.
A bit of 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞.
And a whole lot of 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.