Damn, Why Did I Eat that Last Piece of Cake? 🤦🏾‍♀️

It was my birthday last week, and I’m grateful that I was able to gather with loved ones. As with most birthday celebrations, there was leftover cake - carrot cake.

And the next day, I took out the leftover and sliced it in half. Had that piece. Then, a mere half hour later, I ate the remainder. Let me tell you - it was not a good decision on my part.

I ended up feeling ill and gross from the sugar high.

Why do we sometimes make decisions that we know in the moment will not bode well? 

And does the decision-making process become poorer if we’re feeling exhausted and overwhelmed? The answer is yes.

Now, I’ll give myself grace for the cake as it was my birthday, and the temptation was too much. ;-) 

Another beautiful thing about birthdays besides cake is the opportunity to connect with loved ones flung around the country, the world.

I noticed this year a theme in my interactions - a general sense of lethargy.

“How are you?” 

“Oh, you know, same old, same old.” 

“So what’s new?” 

A deep sigh, followed by “nothing really.” Does this sound like you?

As human beings, we’re wired for novelty. We often get bored after a sense of routine settles in. And these last couple of years has disrupted our outlets of breaking up the sameness.

I believe we would all rather go through life with vibrancy and excitement, rather than boredom and fatigue. And I know it’s tough, especially if we’re feeling exhausted with our work and overwhelmed by all the news.

So how can we be intentional about infusing that energy and vibrancy into everyday life?

There’s the fundamentals - sleep, hydration, movement, and stillness - topics I touch upon with fair regularity and will continue to do so in the future because they bear repeating.

But today, I want to write about the 3 Cs.

Connection

When we’re feeling overwhelmed, we lose the emphasis on connection because we’ve dropped into survival mode. We tend to isolate ourselves and try to focus on the task at hand.

Loneliness - not being connected - plays a major role in increased anxiety, restless sleep, substance abuse, and depression.

We’re social beings that thrive with connection - it’s core to our experience to belong and love.

I invite you to look for one opportunity to connect - here are some ideas to get you brainstorming:

• Ask for help
• Get a good night sleep so able to be present and regulated
• Schedule a FaceTime with a loved one
• End your team meetings with mutual appreciation 

Creative Expression

We often chalk up creativity to something you do as a kid or as an artist. During the age of social media, it’s easy to just consume - scroll through posts without focus. 

When we’re in a stressed space, we’re unable to be creative, and lack of creativity is potentially a sign of burnout. 

And yet creativity is crucial when we’re wanting to make a difference. 

Creativity has been shown to boost our mood, improve cognitive function, reduce stress, and improve social connections.

Here are a few ideas, and choose just one to explore. (For an exhaustive list, check out this rather long list from BBC.)

• Art
• Baking
• Dancing
• Flower arranging
• Gardening
• Guided walks
• Knitting
• Music
• Photography
• Reading
• Singing
• Writing
• Yoga

Challenges

When’s the last time you challenged yourself? Do you remember that feeling of accomplishment?

There’s a reason that we start the new year with resolutions - because we want to challenge ourselves to grow. To find love, to earn more, to lose weight. 

“You never change your life until you step out of your comfort zone; change begins at the end of your comfort zone.” - Roy T. Bennett

Challenges offer us an opportunity to experience novelty, learn new skills, and deepen our growth. 

I did a 30-day yoga challenge last month. Did I do all 30 days? Close, but no - and that’s ok because I moved my body more and learned new tools to focus. And it was fun!

Here are some ideas to start the brainstorming for challenging ourselves:

• Set an audacious goal
• Take a class
• Deepen your meditation
• Try a new workout routine
• Learn a language
• Write daily

So there you have it to infuse more energy into your life: connection, creative expression, and challenges!

Hope this serves!

Until next time, as always, be gentle and kind to yourself.

Shalini