Creating a mantra for myself last year was like setting my own personal roadmap on how I want to live my life daily during the quarantine and the pandemic. It had to be personal, simple, in my own words and relatable to my life.
I didn’t instantly pick my mantra, it was a process. I took time to reflect on what was happening in the world around me, I considered what I had access to individually, and I got clarity on what was important to me. My reflection and mantra came from my “average best days”, this was and is important to me. I didn’t want a vow with hard edges, that had the potential for me to judge myself if I faltered. I wanted a mantra as my personal reminder on how I knew, and still know today, the best ways I operate at a pretty high level on my “average best days.”
Mind your snooze came from me reflecting on how I operate on my average best days. It’s a reminder to myself that on, these day, I sustain a very consistent routine with light complexity in these routines. When I do this, it allows me enough space mentally to do my best work on complex things and to show up fully present for others. I wake up between 4:00-4:430 a.m. consistently without an alarm, I eat and drink lightly throughout, with lots of water, and I go to sleep around 10:00-10:30 p.m.. How do I know if it works? When my head hits the pillow on my average best days, sleep comes easy and fast. And, when I open my eyes in the morning, my energy is, sustainably high.
Mind your news came from, reflecting on how many different things I gave access to me mentally on a daily basis. It was a lot. I wanted to set an intention for myself that I would create boundaries on that access so that I would not get swept away in the tidal wave of information that could put my mind in mental overdrive. It helps me ask inner questions when I am about to take something in such as: “Why am I watching or reading this?” “Will this help, support or guide me in this present moment?” “Are you in a place mentally right now to take this information in?” These were -and are-some of my personal questions I ask on my average best days as I consider feeding my mind any new information. This includes conversations with others, social media, and essentially anything that I see as consumption of the mind.
Mind your booze came from my desire to stay healthy, both mentally and physically. I joked often, “I have a date with my pants when this is all over,” when I spoke of life outside the pandemic. It really wasn’t a joke for me though. I did a real reflection of myself personally and, when I did this, I could be honest with myself on who I am and how my body responds physically. I have a very low metabolism, I walk regularly but don’t work out intensely often, and well I like wine. Mind your booze is my daily reminder of some of these internal reflections. On my best average days for my physical self to function well, I had to be intentional about my caloric intake and carbs, sustain walking for exercise daily, and pay close attention to my alcohol consumption.
Today, as I reflect back on the last year, I can say my mind is stronger now than ever. I had and still have days here I feel like I am losing my mind, get sad, or ruminate. But on my average best days, this mind is solid. My physical health is good and, while I did not lose weight, I also did not gain weight. Happily, me and my pants, are still dating. Most importantly though, I feel good today about what I was able to achieve during the pandemic. Maintaining my closest relationships while gaining many new friendships in the midst of a quarantine lockdown. Creating work that I believe helped others. And improving my most important relationship-the one with myself, that has never been better.
