We live in a country (US) that apparently has a whole lot of national holidays that no one knows about. The process to make a national holiday must be really easy because…… there’s just SO MANY. Did you know today is National MatchMaker Day? Or yesterday was National Beach Day? Or July was National Picnic Month? Or tomorrow is National World Letter Writing Day? Me either.
I unknowingly recognized National Wellness Month in August. For me, August was all about rest and realignment. I wasn’t returning to work like I usually would, so I needed time to shift to my “new normal.” Part of the reason I quit my job was to take a break, so before I shifted to my new normal, I decided to do just that. I slept in. I got back into a workout routine. I started up some healthy eating habits, including eating 3 meals a day. I binge watched tv shows. I spent time with my family. I ate out. I relaxed. Or at least I tried to.
It all sounds so nice in retrospect, but it wasn’t as easy as I’m making it sound. There were so many moments where I kept thinking, “I should be productive. What about my goals? What about my business ideas? Nothing is getting done. I’m wasting time.“ In the midst of resting, I started to think I was unmotivated about my goals and that’s why nothing was getting done. I started to tell myself that I was unmotivated and I needed to figure out a way to motivate myself. I started writing a piece on how to motivate yourself when you’re not feeling it. I kept thinking, “If I could just get up at a decent time” or “If I could just get organized again”. When people asked me how things were going, I kept saying it was hard to develop a routine and wake up early without the pressure of being late for something. Some of this was true, but I wasn’t unmotivated about my goals, I was resting. I was resting my mind and body. I was focused on my wellness before I decided to jump back into the hustle.
For 21 years and over 80% of my life, I had operated on someone else’s time. I woke up for school, work, an internship, a volunteer position, a fellowship, a conference, an event, and the list goes on. There was always some clock I was racing against to be somewhere for someone else. I spent more than half of my life showing up for everyone, but myself. When I decided to take one month, just one, to focus on myself, the pressure to be productive kept sneaking into my thoughts. It was difficult at times, but August was great. I followed my energy, I listened to my body, and I opted out of the social construct of time. I struggled to do it some days, but I had fun going out knowing I could sleep in guilt-free the next day. It’s hard to disconnect from the constant need to be productive, but the way I see it is you can disconnect when you want to or the universe will force you to disconnect when you need to. Either way, it’s going to happen.
With that being said, I’m ready to reestablish a work routine built around my personal schedule. I have goals and business ideas that are waiting to be planted and watered. September is National Self-Improvement Month and National Self-Care Awareness Month. This month I want to balance both. I want to improve myself through my work AND practice self-care. The little taste of peace I got in August cannot just vanish. However, the amount of time I spent binge watching tv shows cannot continue either. September, my goal is to find a balance between self-improvement and self-care each day.
I covered a lot of ground in this post: lessons I learned in August and what I’m looking forward to in September. August felt like I was dragging my feet, but I was recharging. I needed that.
Travel Tip #10: Be patient, sometimes the delay is worth it.
If you’re finding yourself wanting to be productive when you need to rest, be patient with yourself and remind yourself with this affirmation: I’m not wasting time, I’m resting my mind. As we prepare to enter into a new month, this is your formal invitation to join me in recognizing National Self-Improvement Month and National Self-Care Awareness Month. To kick off the month, let’s celebrate National Letter Writing Day. You can write a letter to whoever about whatever. But if that’s too broad for you, here’s two options:
Write a letter to your younger self offering advice on growing through discomfort.
Think about where you want to be by the end of the month or year. Write a letter to your future self celebrating your accomplishments the end of the month/year.
Share your letter with me. I want to send it back to you in a month, at the end of the year, or on a random, unexpected date.
Enjoy the delay,
Mai
P.S. Nothing works unless you do and no, it’s not too late.