If you follow my journey on Instagram, you probably noticed a big shift that happened in my content over the course of the last few weeks. From being predominantly beauty oriented, it’s more about wellness right now.
I am always real with you guys and my social media reflects what is happening in my life at the moment. As I recently posted, I felt incredibly overwhelmed with all the beauty launches that were heading my way and took those few months of summer to clean up my skincare routine and minimize my makeup stash.
What I learned though is that just cutting on the number of products you use it just not enough. On my journey, I realized that I need to be more intentional about giving myself enough time for self-care.
A trendy word “wellness” in my case is all about finding those moments with myself where I have nowhere to rush and nothing to accomplish.
Weird, but this whole notion of taking time off turned out to be more difficult than it seems. Don’t take me wrong: I have no problem taking a foam bath in candlelight or applying healing body products. But some things like meditation… Oh boy, I needed to push myself to just close my eyes and disconnect.
The process of doing nothing is a hard thing for always on-a-run New Yorkers!
Throughout my journey, I figured that I needed to switch the vibe when it comes to even the environment I am leaving at. I love the city but when you are feeling disconnected with yourself you need to find the spot where you could be surrounded by fewer people. For that reason, I moved to the Hamptons and found my soul is at ease.
But enough about me. Let me tell you about those little rituals that help me to feel connected with myself and more intentional with my life in general. I hope these tactics will help you to re-discover yourself too.
Create a Morning Routine
Everyone is talking about it but it was not until recently that I realized how important is to start your day right. Usually, I wake up in a great mood – somehow in my late 20s I turned into a morning person and I just love A.M. so much. But if you are living a busy lifestyle, just waking up and running with your day is not enough.
Finding structure even in things like a morning routine gives you that mental clarity and sense of accomplishment that goes with you throughout the day even if everything goes wrong otherwise. In a way, your brain is thinking… “If I managed to accomplish the A.M. to-do, everything else is totally doable too.” And it’s certainly is! Just give yourself that morning push and everything else will feel like it has more meaning throughout the day.
Personally, I figured that the way I’m waking up is very important. I used to be one of those girls who are setting up 10 alarms and wake up feeling like a heart attack. My adrenaline would go up even before I open my eyes and for the rest of the day, I’ll feel like I’m in a fight or flight mode. Needless to say, that was not doing anything good for me.
These days, I have just two alerts – for any day of the week, including weekends. At 7:00 am my regular alarm goes where I selected slow rising music that doesn’t frighten me in the morning. Then, at 7:05 my meditation alarm goes on. I meditate for 10-20 minutes when I’m still in bed and then go on with my life.
I started using the app called Calm and helps me to get in that relaxed and productive mindset first thing in the morning. At no point, I’m an expert in meditation just yet and sometimes I can’t stop my mind wandering for the entire session but the practice is certainly doing something as I feel more self-observant and relaxed throughout the day.
Establish a Structure
There’s nothing better than a routine – and it comes for everything in life. A good workout routine helps to stay on track. A study plan helps you to succeed in school or college. A great skincare routine gives you that glow. You know, the list might go on.
When it comes to self-care though, it doesn’t really matter which routine you pick. You just need to have something that feels stable and important. 10,000 steps per day is a good starting point that will work for anyone. Get that *** out of the house and go for a walk. Daily! You’ll be amazed by how a little everyday dedication transforms your life.
I have a bunch of routines that I’m trying to keep up with. 10k steps per day is one of them. A mandatory Sunday bath is another. Drink a lot of water is the third one. At some point, I created so many routines that just managing to accomplish them all makes my day run faster. But it’s not just a waste of time.
By structuring what’s important for you, you are actually moving toward your bigger goals. AKA little structures are everyday small goals and keep you pushing forward. That’s super empowering if you think about it from that perspective.
Curate Your Surroundings
We hear about it all the time that it’s good to clean up your home and workspace. “That brings me joy” mantra is on everyone’s mind these days but how rarely we think about people around us that bring us or destroy our sanity?
Perhaps, now is also a good time to think about all the people that you surrounded yourself with? Of course, I don’t mean to recommend burning any bridges. Just the act of acknowledgment of which side each of your close people is bringing in you is already half the job done.
One of those cozy September evenings, pour yourself a glass of good wine or a cup of aromatic tea and go through your photos on the phone and Instagram. Think about all the people that surround you – not from a perspective of how much fun it looks you spent together but rather how you felt being in that particular moment of your life. Some of the conclusions you’ve made from this observation practice are truly priceless.
* * * * *
What are your feelings about September? Do you also feel that it’s a transitional month that brings the vibe of being reflective and self-exploring? If so, what are some of the conclusions and observations you’ve made lately? What’s the number one lesson the universe taught you this month? Let’s discuss in the comments.
