finding my truth

It’s been about six months since I implemented Phase 1 & figured this would be a good time for an update.

Quick refresher, here’s what I was working on:
– Pulling back from social media
– Reading more as I have a growing stack of books lol
– Making a list of things I’m interested in or that I want to accomplish

So let’s take it piece by piece. Ready?

I considerably pulled back from socials. It started with limiting myself to an hour a day, then 30 minutes, then 10, then I found that I hardly opened it at all. And the funny part is that I found my overall mental health improving. As you know, I’m not one to doom scroll so it wasn’t like I was lost in the sauce. But not having that constant dopamine loop flooding my brain has been a breath of fresh air. Turns out, our brains aren’t able to handle it. Weird, right? Who knew having a constant influx of information was bad for you? 😉 I find myself more patient, more in control of my emotions, & just happier.

CHALLENGE: Find out what your average screen time is for the week under your phone settings. See if you can cut it in half. Your mind will thank you.

There’s nothing that irritates me than when I’m trying to think of a word & I’m pulling a Madeline Kahn as Mrs. White in Clue. Interestingly, it’s a common side effect for me if I don’t read enough. It’s as if my brain is searching for the right word while my mouth hesitates, filling the gaps with nonsense or filler words like “um” or “uh.” I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned this before, but I tend to have dyslexic moments when I’m really stressed out. So if my recall isn’t as sharp as I would like & I’m hella stressed, you can see how quickly it frustrates me. How do I work on it? I try to read a little bit every day. Book, news article, a blog post ;), whatever. Something to keep it going.

CHALLENGE: With your time you’ve earned back from not doom-scrolling, pick up a book or listen to an audiobook. See how you feel afterwards. Probably super smart, right?

Some of my goals have felt like I’m throwing myself at a locked door. I don’t have the right key to open it, & for some reason, I think brute strength or sheer willpower will work. Um no. I end up bruising my pride & wondering what went wrong. Other goals feel too big & scary & I abandon them before I even start. If I’ve had these thoughts, I’m sure you have as well.

I don’t have it all figured out, but I will share what I’ve learned. There is no master key. What works for one door won’t necessarily work for another. That’s been the biggest lesson I’ve had to learn this year. Some of the things I’d like to accomplish require a bunch of tiny steps, others require a chunk of money, & still others require time. Each one is different. Writing everything out & realizing there isn’t one skeleton key for all of these doors has been helpful. Another helpful trick has been to murder one item at a time. Don’t multitask, for the love. It’s bullshit & has been proven repeatedly that it doesn’t work.

CHALLENGE: What’s something small on your goal list that you can take out? Nothing major here. We’re talking “fold the laundry that’s been in the basket for a week” or “take your returns back to Target.” Straight up murder it.

So what does Phase 2 look like for me? Like this:

• Uninstalling social media. I still use messaging apps & maybe once a day I’ll check in with Bluesky, but that’s it.
• Challenging myself to read up to an hour a day. I’m notorious for reading one book & buying four more. I’ve got a good pile I’m working on. And an hour a day is doable.
• Setting up mini goals within my big goals of what I want to accomplish. Breaking it down into bite-sized pieces so I don’t get discouraged.