RITUALS not RESOLUTIONS
Updated: Jan 27, 2021
GOOD. RIDDANCE. 20. 20. It was one heck of a year and we are READY to turn the page. But let’s be real. 2020 brought us exhaustion and perplexities we never could have planned for. So instead of diving into 2021 with a list full of resolutions and undertakings to bog us down further, we’re remixing things a bit. Resolutions are great (and we stand behind anyone who makes them), but let’s talk rituals.
Rituals are ceremonies and practices that carry a deeper meaning and are performed in a regular, repeated, and precise manner. Although rituals are typically thought of in the religious sense, they can also be implemented in our everyday lives. Chey and I are excited to dive a little bit more into what this means for each of us :)
Passing the mic to... CHEY!
Hello T1D fam. Let me tell ya. Like so many others this year, going into lockdown hit. me. hard. From the excitement of moving to a new neighborhood in San Francisco only to be told “NOPE. Stay home. No exploring.” To the anticipation of starting a job full of travel opportunities only to be stripped by stay at home orders for everyones safety. To weekly happy hours with my SQUAD...that ultimately transformed into not seeing each other for MONTHS, it sure has been a DOOZY.
But in order to keep me grounded and hopeful, I noticed that I really found solace in some of my daily rituals. A few of those faves were:
Making my bed everyday
Morning tea
Calling/talking to family/friends/T1D friends
I noticed that these simple practices like making my bed and indulging in my morning cup of tea (don't forget the cream and sugar ;)) really help to set my day off right. They keep me present and focused on some of the “bigger” things I need to get done throughout my days. But since I’ve got these rituals nailed down already, I’m looking forward to adding in some more into my 2021 rapport. Gif of me enjoying my morning tea below!
I should mention though, in order for a ritual to work, the practice needs to be consistent. I consider myself a pretty consistent gal most of the time (Bachelor fangirl since forever...or checking my dexcom reading and actually bolusing for everything!). And while that’s worked great in my professional and personal life, it’s time for me to take that quality of consistency further. It’s time to practice consistency in the relationship with myself. Some of the ways I plan on doing that, and more specifically, some of the rituals I plan on practicing are:
Meditation
Hitting my “in range” time
Shopping local
Although meditating is something I’ve been trying out the past couple of years, I really only do it when I’m stressed. Obviously this is a great start! But I also know that making this practice habitual and part of my daily ritual will only increase my mental strength.
Hitting my “in range” is also going to be huge for my mental health. Of course, it’s important for my physical health (for all you non T1Ds reading: hitting my range means keeping my blood glucose in a range my doctors and I think are best for me) but I also know that physical and mental health go hand in hand. Therefore, if I’m staying in range, which affects my physical health, I’ll be worrying less about what the remainder of the day, night, or even week will look like, which ultimately affects my mental health. Win win for me, right?!
Shopping local. We hear about it, we see it promoted, we talk about it with our friends. But take a second and pause...do you REALLY practice doing this? It’s cool if not, (sometimes that Costco run is NECESSARY). But I know, especially as an entrepreneur myself, shopping locally is really important to me this year. My first step in following through with this ritual will be to take a hard look at each purchase and see if it can be bought local. I challenge you to muster up your creativity sometime this month and look local for that product or service too :)
Anyway, these three pieces are totally doable, and actually make me excited about the year ahead. I know that concentrating on these three rituals is going to help ease the exhaustion from 2020 and elevate the path through 2021.
That’s a wrap for now from me...tossing the mic back to MO.
Hey y’all! If you know me, you know I love making lists, setting goals, and busting my butt (and bustin a move along the way) to accomplish those goals. I thrive off of positive (and constructive) feedback and while I’ve gotten good at receiving this feedback professionally and athletically, I’m looking forward to getting more internal with myself, and the feedback I have for myself that I can implement through rituals that are important to me!
So without further ado, let me introduce y’all to a few of my rituals I’ll be starting in 2021. Let’s go!
Reading before bed
Moisturizing face sunscreen everyday
Talk to at least one friend a day
Reading before bed: now I love a good book but if I’m being honest, don’t read that much for pleasure. Usually it’s poolside in Palm Springs with a marg in hand, or occasionally when a friend sends me a rec, I try my best to check out what they’ve suggested. With all the screen time we’ve had in 2020, I’m looking forward to being a bit more intentional with the content I’m consuming, and that’s about to start with reading. Right now I’m reading Maxie McCoy’s, You're Not Lost: An Inspired Action Plan for Finding Your Own Way and am enjoying her wisdom on how to navigate my 20s :)
Moisturizing face sunscreen every day. Ya’ll. Wear! Your! Sunscreen! I mean, age is inevitable, and this society seriously needs to chill with their issues with women aging. But despite the beauty aspects of this practice (wrinkle prevention, helloooo), I would like to do what I can to prevent skin cancer or any other health effects that can occur from not wearing sunscreen. As a PNW native, this practice was never really honed into me growing up, but I now recognize the importance and look forward to taking steps into taking better care of my body!
Talk to at least one friend a day. Now, if you know me, you know I love to talk (lol). I mean... Cheyanne and I even have a podcast “Walk and Talk with CheyMo”! I’m hoping implementing this ritual is going to have a great affect on my mental health. As we’ve all seen this past year, the power of relationships is what sustains us through and through. So this year, I look forward to reaching out to the old, and maintaining new relationships through phoning my friends and checking in with how they really are. DM us on Insta if you ever want to chat. (@cheymofaulkner)
These rituals are totally manageable and I am excited to see how they ripple into my life and year ahead. I think forming goals you’re excited about is the best way to stick to them and that’s why we wanted to focus on rituals instead of resolutions. We hope some of these ideas sparked some ideas yourself, and you can find some ways to build some fun new practices into your lives too!
Love and light and peace and blessings,
MO and CHEY