Happy Monday, folks.
It’s funny because the title of this week’s blog post came to me randomly after watching a remake of Cinderella on Disney+—and the remake I’m talking about is the one with Lily James and Cate Blanchett…the costumes in that version are STUNNING. To die for, actually. Gorg.
And now, as I sit here on my couch after returning from a week on vacation at the beach, I struggle trying to find the right words to type.
While a vacation during the times of Covid definitely had a different look to them this year, there was one thing that still remained the same.
Time away while being accompanied by sand, water, and sunshine always allows me a chance to relax, renew, rejuvenate, and RESET.
I don’t know what it is about the atmosphere, but it always allows me to put so much into perspective while being tanned by the Vitamin D of sunshine.
And I mean tanned. I wear tanning lotion (an SPF of 15 and different from sunscreen), which I know is not healthy or good for my skin, but that’s a debate for another day. Mmmbyeee.
There is no agenda, no panic to answer emails within a 24 hour period, and no alarm to wake you up from the deep slumber under the covers.
But a week without all of these above things and pressures flooding your life, also comes the flipside of it too—the extra time for your mind to wander.
A wandering mind is not a new concept to me. It happens multiple times throughout the week and quite often, it results in me waking up and not being able to fall back to sleep.
So, what do I do?
Well, BREAKING NEWS—I take to the crutch known as social media.
Shocker.
This damn crutch glues me to scrolling for what feels like hours through multiple profiles of people (some I don’t even know) staring at filtered photo perfection of the latest and greatest in terms of the engagements, bodies, and homes.
Which means as I scroll, the emotions of not feeling good enough and comparison start to flood in as well.
Like, as I sit here writing this, I’m literally looking at area rugs for the living room because I feel like the one I have right now is outdated and just isn’t cool or stylish.
Like, why?
Why am I subjecting myself to these kinds of thoughts and pressure?
Having the latest and greatest is not me nor will it ever be.
I go in and out with feeling these emotions and while I’m still learning on how to not let these thoughts overtake me and react personally to things, there are still moments when I feel like the waves are crashing and pulling me in with the strong current.
And now that I’m back from vacation, life for me until the end of the year will be go, go GO.
Which means that it will be super critical for me to focus and not let my mind wander or let these emotions creep in while also continuing to give myself grace in the fact that I’m not perfect.
Right before I left for vacation, I had a very negative interaction with an individual in my life that I took personally and used emotion of great proportion in my reaction.
It was the icing on the cake to notify me that it was time to RESET.
And with how busy the next couple of months are going to be, especially with the finalization of material and details for my January 4th reveal, a time of reset for Mr. Sunshine will be an even more critical component in my daily life.
And how do I reset/what are my go to entities in doing so?
Well, I’m SO glad you asked because I’m going to share 5 of them right now with you.
- Dance party in my living room. I put on a playlist of my favorite songs and literally dance in the living room to them while lip syncing the lyrics or singing out loud depending on how much of a happy energy I need. Some of the songs on this list include: Firework by Katy Perry, Shut Up And Dance With Me by Walk The Moon, and You Can’t Stop The Beat from Hairspray. Do you have any go to songs to dance out to when you need that extra jolt of energy? Let’s have a dance party without a care in the world!
- Adult coloring books. While at the beach, I was reconnected with how much I enjoy coloring. It is such a therapeutic action that brings out the creative juices in my soul. Blocking out some time in each day for coloring is something that will be happening in the near future.
- Hallmark movies. Yes, seriously. Hallmark movies. While we know that the plot line for them is always the same—(beautiful girl moves to new town, hot man swoops in to save the day, they fall in love and get married…etc, etc)—I can’t stop watching them. I watched several on vacation that I absolutely loved and I will be figuring out how I can access them since I do not have cable because I need them in my life. NEED THEM.
- Running/working out. We all know how much I love running and for me, there isn’t anything quite like the feeling I get when I’m taking the Carrie legs out for some pounding pavement miles. When I run, nothing else exists and all the toxins (physical and emotional) are just released from my body into the air to start anew. And working out with my personal trainer, Zach, is just another aspect that makes me feel so good both physically and mentally because it helps me knock out the negative energy that I’m feeling in the moment. And leg day is still my FAVE day.
- Ice cream. All of us have a guilty pleasure junk food item that we go to when we need that time to reset and just hug a carton of Ben & Jerry’s. And while society tells us that guilty pleasure eating is not something we should do, I say SCREW them! If I want to eat some ice cream straight from the carton because it makes me feel good and helps me to reset myself, I’m going to do it. They do in the rom coms, so that makes it ok. Duh.
As we continue to move forward with living out quarantine in an isolation status more than we normally would, it is so important that we keep checks and balances on our mental health while also allowing ourselves time to relax, renew, rejuvenate, and RESET.
Listen to your body and find the ways that help you to RESET. And don’t be embarrassed to ask for help if you need it. Sometimes, an extra shoulder to lean and cry on or talk to is just what we need to feel better and cope with what is happening in life.
The world continues to be a scary place and one that brings up constant emotions of uncertainty, fear, and panic.
But please, don’t forget…
Have courage, be kind, and reset.
Sprinkle sunshine always,
JP!
Mr. Sunshine Smiles 