Hello Tampa Bay and welcome to 2022! We hope that you found some space for rest and recharge over the holidays. We’re so glad to be back in your inbox! And speaking of inboxes, if yours is anything like ours, it’s filled with emails from companies and people trying to sell you things to help “improve” yourself in this season of resolutions. We promise, this is not one of those.
In truth, all of the pressure to change ourselves, improve ourselves, do more, be more can be really taxing on our mental health. As we continue to navigate the daily stresses of life, amidst year three of a pandemic, these calls to action seem not only poorly timed, but completely impossible. They make us feel like we’re failing at something we never even opted into. Consider this email your permission slip to take a break from self-improvement schemes that tell you that who you are right now, in this moment, is not enough. You are enough and you are doing enough. Simply reading this email is you taking a moment of your day to do something kind for your mental health. You’re already doing a great job, and you’re allowed to be kind to yourself.
In fact, being kind to ourselves and approaching change with self-compassion is beneficial for our sense of wellbeing. It allows us to be more authentic in our daily life and approach things we do want to change with a growth mindset. Researchers have found that self-compassion is more effective than even self-esteem, meaning that even if you aren’t feeling your most confident, choosing kindness, understanding, and gentle encouragement will go a long way.
With that in mind, what we want to talk about today is taking the smallest possible action to support yourself. Not to improve yourself, but to support yourself. This can look like simply taking a sip of water, checking out one of the resources below, stretching in your chair, or taking a single deep breath. These moments may seem too small to matter, but these quick wins not only build momentum and confidence, they are also always accessible to us even when we’re stressed, overwhelmed, tired, or busy. The moments that are simple and feel good are the things we will stick with, and with enough practice, they become the habits that form the foundation of how we take care of ourselves.
We’ve all made those big New Year’s proclamations. “This year I will go to the gym every day! Eat only vegetables! Meditate for 20 minutes every morning!” And sure…movement is great, so are veggies and meditation, but creating huge ground shifts can put us into a very pass/fail mentality where we give up if we can’t do things perfectly.
We want you to be on your own side. So this year we are bucking the New Year’s trends…we want you to acknowledge what you are already doing. We want you to celebrate (or at least acknowledge!) the small wins that over time, with patience, can build into sustainable and supportive habits that you really stick with. Know that we will be right here to support you and root you on the whole way.
We’ll see you next month,
Carrie
