Headspace and the Cutest Thing

Image from Headspace

In the middle of mentally trying to survive the pandemic, a couple of big, probably lasting, realizations occurred: (a) kindness to yourself is a real thing to be done every day; and (b) “setting your intention” can be as straightforward as “still being okay at the end of the day”.

Kindness to self was previously an alien subject to me. And silly. Why does one have to be intentional about being kind to yourself? It sounded like pure fluff and something that’s already automatic anyway, didn’t Nietzsche or somebody say that we are subconsciously acting out of self-interest underneath it all? What does this even mean, in practice?

After months and months of being bombarded with the subject on Headspace, I realized that this means being self-aware enough to intentionally take care of yourself like how you would take care of a beloved parent, friend, partner. Making decisions about myself as if I’m another person I care about. Take a nap when I’m tired, not push myself to the limit, say no to things that I don’t really feel like doing, remind myself that I am a good person, set boundaries even in relation to people I love, schedule an afternoon by myself, have a gentle workout, and not feel guilty about it all. A most welcome mindset. Psychologists tell us that doing even just one thing you like every day can help prevent anxiety. 

Headspace is a wonderfully effective resource. Their programs such as Managing Anxiety, Navigating Change, Kindness, Restlessness, they all work in a way that books or podcasts can’t teach you. It’s the practice of intentionally internalizing it every day in a place of clarity. Bird by bird, morning by morning. Gradual, palpable change.

On that note, in yoga and in meditation, we are often told to set and focus on our intention for the day. This was another difficult concept to grasp, for me. Until one morning, when I decided to set my intention/main prayer as “for  me to still be okay at the end of the day”. That means that anything can happen during the day, all the ups and downs, but when I check in before I sleep, I have mental composure and equanimity, still. The day shall be bookended by peace. It’s been the sweetest personal daily goal. Achievable on most days.

Meditation is one of those keystone habits (credits to Charles Duhigg’s Power of Habit) that is contributing so much to my daily happiness and wellbeing. Interestingly, my meditation habit really solidified after reading Michael Pollan’s How to Change Your Mind. It discusses psychedelics and its benefits in the psychological field. Being a conservative when it comes to these things, I was skeptical and reluctant to read it. But Tim Ferriss made such a big deal out of this book that I was convinced to pick it up. The book was amazingly researched and led me to question the opinions that I held on the matter. It describes the wildest things! Like beholding God, being in the presence of the deepest love, watching one’s ego dissolve and fly away like a thousand Post-its in the wind. How psychedelics transform the experience of the dying. I was most intrigued about the discussion on transcendence. Psychedelics are still not widely legal of course, but Pollan makes a case for it. He discusses meditation at length too, and stated that that and holotropic breathing can yield the same benefits. 

I love this book so much. I love it when books change my mind (*got you there).

Image not mine

This week, I decided to conduct a 360-degree survey among people I worked with the most. It was all anonymous to encourage people to be honest in their feedback. My love language is words of affirmation so there were only two possible outcomes: it could have either gone well or affected me negatively, but I decided I’d rather know. All in the name of improvement. It turned out to be the best decision of my week! I learned quite a lot but most of the comments just made me smile. The cutest thing was a swoonworthy “thank you for being you”. Kilig. I so loved that whole exercise and would recommend that to everyone!

Have a happy and healthy week!