Valuing YOU Challenge
Everybody’s Free
You can post about how your #30DayChallnge is going by tagging @theroompsy on Instagram or by using the hashtag #TheGreenSpace30DC ! Good luck!
This month is all about celebrating yourself and grounding your mind.
2020 so far has been an incredibly unpredictable and painful time for so many reasons. The turbulence we have had to endure makes me question whether a safety-helmet would even be that beneficial at this point?
Remember back to the 90s, when everything seemed relatively straight forward, safe and reliable? When moral values felt more prominent as codes to live by - and it felt more normal to treat people with courtesy and respect, rather than discernment and haughtiness? How ironic, when compared to aspects of society today. Am I the only one that feels just a hop and a skip away from going “back in myyy day…”
Well what if you could go back? No, I don’t mean calling the dude from ‘Back to the Future’ and zipping back to your prime years. I mean, standing now here in the present and saying “no”. To embrace the achievements, advancements and growth of our modern day, but having the courage to reject what doesn’t align with you. To feel ok and confident standing where you grew up socio-culturally and being proud to maintain aspects from that time.
I think we all have moments where we feel a little disenfranchised with our current culture and society. Where we question for example, the increase and severity of worsening teenage violence recurring at younger and younger ages. Where we feel disturbed and confused why so few people see issue with the sexualisation of minors at increasingly younger ages, through various products and advertisements etc. When you could work hard or study hard and you could use that achievement as a stepping stone, without having to negotiate mountains of politics, “game plans”, and jump through an increasing number of quite frankly ridiculous hoops for half the reward. Or having next to zero ability to get on the housing market. Or how you seemingly can’t sneeze without someone claiming they’re “offended”, over to be honest, nothing. The list could go on.
Now is the time to take a moment and reflect on yourself in this climate and re-evaluate where you want to exist within it. We can never go back, despite having fun sometimes remembering - we also cannot change those around us. All we can do is live our truths and live out our values, silver polished with the developments and positives we glean from our modern day. It’s not all bad, right? And to most importantly feel ok with that. If you don’t agree with a particular social trend or feel a little ostracized from some more contemporary beliefs and attitudes; that is ok – as long as that view doesn’t discriminate against or hurt anyone (we still need to be progressive).
We all need to feel a little bit more confident in being ourselves, being authentic, and in not necessarily following the crowd – which is what we at The Room – Psy, want to help you feel more able doing this month.
I found this famous speech/song about a month ago, of what is presented as a teachers speech to his students of 1999 before they left education and joined the big wide world. The words in this stuck out to me so much and really warmed my heart. I felt like a giant cluster of messy frustrations, insecurities or confusions immediately became ironed out and I felt a wave of assurance and epiphany wash over me. I felt at peace and motivated to peruse life (ok, calm down dramatic) – but you get what I’m saying.
In the modern day hustle and bustle of society and keeping up with the carbon-copy Kardashians of our generation, it is so easy (and almost unavoidable) to sometimes just feel really fucking lost. In these moments, I urge you to listen to this video and to ground yourself. Remember who you are, where you’ve come from, what you’ve learnt, what you have, and what you care about. I promise you are enough. You were born to be a unique and extraordinary individual, down to every little tiny DNA strand – stop manipulating them to resemble someone you don’t even know, or necessarily even like.
If this video speaks to you like it did me, you can follow this month’s 30 Day Challenge which has directly taken its influence from the messages in this speech. Everybody’s free. And that means you.
Day 1
Look after your skin and throw out the crap. Did you know a number of products we don’t even think about putting on (or in!) us, can actually be really harmful? Check out a great list of ingredients to avoid here (https://wendypolisi.com/skincare-ingredients-to-avoid/)
Day 2
Enjoy being the age you are and make the most of every single moment. Make memories and record them where you can. Make your mantra: “what other people think of me, is none of my business” – because it’s really not. The only opinion that matters when it comes to you and your life, is your own.
Day 3
Set out an intention for something you want, want to be or want to achieve and just focus on the short term of that. Write out a small plan and keep your immediate focus short-scope but detailed. You can figure out the next step when you’ve actually got to it.
Day 4
Write down a list of things that scare you. Score it on its “scariness” or difficulty and make sure to do it. Once you have done so, tick it off and score it on how you actually found it to be. Keep working on yourself this way, so that you grow confidence and faith in yourself. Confidence isn’t something you just have, you have to earn it in order to maintain it.
Day 5
Sing. Be it loud, or out of tune. Who cares? The lesson here is to experience the joy of simple things that make you feel good – regardless of what the outside view is.
Day 6
How are you treating the people in your life? Are you kind, considerate, thoughtful, and utilise empathy in your interactions? If you could do better, make an action today to improve that relationship or make a necessary amends.
Day 7
“Treat others how you would like to be treated” – and just as important: don’t accept what you would find immoral doing to others yourself. You are your own best friend and you need to have your own back. If something is bugging you, or hurting you, you need to handle that face on. You owe it to your wellbeing. Similarly, if someone doesn’t deserve to be in your life because of how they treat you, keep them far away and take some time to reconcile that with yourself, because it is ok to say “no thank you” to someone’s presence in your life.
Day 8
Remember to look after your oral, eye, and genital health. Book any health-related appointments you have been avoiding. Just do it.
Day 9
Let go of jealousy and recognise why you are fantastic in your own right. Write a list of all of your achievements, big or small and acknowledge the hard times you have experienced and overcome (or are in the process of overcoming). Compare and contrast this list.
Day 10
Meditate. Go through all of your influences and inspirations and look at why you admire them so much. What lessons can you take from them and what principles can you apply to your own life? Have you been too hard on yourself or unrealistic about what you set out to do, in a particular arena of your life? Take time to STOP. Relax, reflect and re-group. Remember that you heal by releasing, not suppressing. Every day is a new day and a new opportunity for whatever you want your life to be. Remember that rest breaks are just as important as the time you spend doing a task, be it professionally or personally. Your mind and body needs space and time sometimes to re-fresh. Give yourself permission to take some necessary time out at regular intervals. The world isn’t going anywhere.
Day 11
Write a list of all of the compliments you remember receiving – and add to them when you receive more. If you are feeling crafty, write them on bits of paper and store them in a jar. When you have a moment where you feel bad about yourself, look at these notes.
Day 12
Create storage for sentimental items, clean them, and box them up or display them with love. Never delete or throw away a photograph. Keep record of the valuable things.
Day 13
Throw away what is broken, restore what you want to keep, give away or recycle what you no longer use. Stop holding onto junk, for the “what if I need it” excuse. Be mindful about your belongings.
Day 14
Stretch. Be gentle with your body; fuel it with healthy, plant-based whole foods and give sore or stiff points healing attention.
Day 15
Write down anything you are having frustrations with not knowing, not knowing how to “do”, or just feel “ughh” about dealing with. Make actionable plans with what you can and make peace with what you cannot. Another reminder that the world is not going anywhere. You are allowed to take time to figure things out or just to sit on road-blocks for a while.
Day 16
Book a blood test to check your vitals to see where you may be lacking. And/or make a food diary and water log to see what elements of your lifestyle are unhealthy or could be better. Design a meal plan to “up” your vitamin and mineral intake in response to this. Invest in some healthful supplements (we recommend aloe vera tablets, turmeric tablets, oregano oil tablets, vitamin B, C, E, Iron, Calcium, Iodine, Zinc, D3, B12, and DHA). Always check with your doctor before taking any new form of supplement etc.
Day 17
Avoid The Sitting Disease (https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/do-you-have-sitting-disease#1). If you don’t have a problem with this, look at how you treat your body in terms of posture, poorly using equipment, doing over-strenuous activities without employing proper precautions etc. Assess how your lifestyle could have negative impacts on your body and research how to better adapt this and protect your joints and spine.
Day 18
Enjoy the moment and the people you have in your life. Reject any worry or anxiety about who may leave it or come into it. Make plans with people often and always try to say YES to opportunities and social invites. You can only live for the now, so live for it.
Day 19
Make note of your self-talk. Are you too lenient or too hard on yourself? What needs adaption and attention? Work on those aspects.
Day 20
Love yourself and be kind to your body. Quit and throw away damaging activities or behaviours. Your body is temple and is the only place you have to live for your entire life. Treat it preciously and ignore any criticism regarding perceived flaws or insecurities from yourself or others. Your body is your body.
Day 21
Dance as often as possible and do not care who is around you, or what you feel you look like. Let go and move.
Day 22
Learn and read as much as you can, but tailor what you make use of through your own personal lens and experience. Do not be a passive sponge that just soaks up everything around you. Be critical in what you think and take in and always be open to change and develop yourself and your knowledge.
Day 23
Cut out all of the junk and the noise. Unfollow the toxic influencers, the people or things that don’t add value to your life, and remove anything that insists you need to buy it or deprive yourself of, in order to be “better”. You know in your heart what you need in order to get where you want to be – don’t get sucked into capitalisms game.
Day 24
Make time for your family, your friends, your partner, and yourself once each every week to two weeks. No exceptions. You will be amazed how this will feed your soul.
Day 25
Make peace with any relationships or friendships you have lost. Be open to new relationships that may come your way and do not judge them by expectations or pains from your past. Every individual is different and with that, carry their own unique stories and possibilities. Keep your heart and mind open.
Day 26
Don’t be afraid to move, to travel, to quit, to apply for something, or just to shake up your life. We all experience birth and death – the time in between is yours to curate. Make sure it is filled with fun and the things you want, so to keep you entertained between point A. and B.
Day 27
Make a bucket list of places to travel to and make plans to work your way through them. If you don’t have a lot of money – make these places local. You would be surprised what unsuspecting fun you can find close by.
Day 28
Accept certain inalienable truths.
Day 29
Write a list of all of the things you value at your core being (e.g. core principles). Are you living your truth – and if not, how can you live in a way that is better aligned with these?
Day 30
Make preparations to stand on your own feet and be independent to the best of your ability. You never know when you will need to solely support yourself. Always be ready.