Do Regular Shit

Fair warning: This one may be a bit of a rant. But every so often my inner teenager has to take the helm. He likes the sardonic wit, and occasional self-deprecating humor too. So, hopefully this offers you a bit of levity for the holiday season ahead! 🎁🎊

God bless 'em, but super-scientists, biohacker bros, wellness influencers & social media in general have appropriated common sense, "validated" it, and repackaged it into something amazing! and supposedly unique (and, of course, sellable!) that takes much of the joy & ease out of these things in order to superpower your Hustle or maximize who you are in some way.

And this time of year in particular is LOADED with scarcity cues that encourage us to jump on the intensity train when it comes to our self-care & personal development:

• Make this your BEST year-end ever!

• Only ___ days/weeks left in 2023, FINISH STRONG!

• Start planning those New Year’s resolutions NOW!

Paradoxically, bringing that sort of intensity and over-focus to the ways we care for ourselves ups the stress our nervous systems are processing. This alone can undermine all of our efforts at relaxing more, experiencing more gratitude, or turning down the volume on pain or other health issues.

Or simply being a content, well-balanced human.

If you follow any of the wellness peeps out there, pretty much every "hack" or "ultimate protocol" consists of a package of super-basic, old-school, common sense ways to live your life. Just re-branded with cooler names.

Some favorites:

• "Sleep hygiene" = turn of your screens at a reasonable hour

• "Optic flow" = take a walk

• "Rucking" (aka “backpacking”) = go hiking, maybe wear a backpack with stuff in it too

• "Dopamine detox" = be bored sometimes

• "Light exposure" = watch the sunrise & sunset

• "Mindfulness" = know yourself

• "Gratitude practices" = appreciate what you've got

• "Forest bathing" = go outside 

• "Natural movement" = move around in interesting ways

• "Earthing" = get dirty

• “Cacao ceremony” = drink hot chocolate🤷🏻‍♂️

• "Plant medicine journey" = loosen up & expand your mind every so often, it'll do you some good...you're not going to go crazy, jump off a building, lose your job and family, or end up homeless...😁

#goodjobscience #thanksinfluencerbros #slowclap

Is it me, or is this stuff getting a bit over the top?

My friends, if you want to be healthy and happy and live a good life, just do basic, regular ol' shit that you already know is good for you.

So this holiday season, as you're looking for ways to rest & digest the past year, I simply encourage you to aim at a good, healthy balance of old-school-human activities like those above. A little bit at a time, regularly.

Your parents or grandparents probably told you to do this stuff when you were a kid. Listen to them now.

#rantcomplete

PS -- I can say I'm taking aim squarely at myself in this one. I love nerding out on this stuff, listen to plenty of these podcasts regularly, and very often share these practices with clients. I hope if this is you too you can enjoy what I've written here, have a little laugh at yourself like I try to do often, and perhaps even loosen the reins a bit on your "protocols."

PPS -- What'd I miss?? Comment back with your own favorites!