I was watching one of Sal Biadora’s videos a few weeks ago, and in it he talked about how we’re often so focused on external experiences, events, ideas, opinions that we forget to look within. We rarely check in with ourselves and have many reasons and excuses as to why that is—we’re too busy, we’re perfectly fine so we don’t need to, we don’t know how to. Often we’re just afraid to look inside ourselves because we’re scared of the questions and answers we might find. I’ve spent the last few months doing just this— self-reflecting, re-evaluating, and realigning.
I spent this summer in my parents’ home in Chicago. What was supposed to be a two-week visit turned into more than a month-long stay. This six-week visit to my hometown turned out to be one of the most life changing trips I’ve ever had. I developed a more meaningful relationship with my parents, got to hangout with my brother, made new friends, and got a dream job.
It was about three weeks into my trip that I decided to take a mental break from everything in my life: work, social media, personal projects. I was feeling slightly burnt out from life in general and I felt like I needed to hit pause. I messaged a few friends to let them know that I wouldn’t be online and will be unavailable for a few days. I committed to not doing anything work-related, not checking social media, and overall just limiting any screen-based entertainment and activities during this period.
On the first day, I woke up around 8 in the morning, filled in my Five-Minute Journal, stretched for 20 minutes, made my usual iced coffee, and sat in my backyard listening to music and sipping my drink. After that, my brother and I decided to bake macarons which my stepdad had been requesting since I arrived at home.
I copied a recipe for chocolate macarons onto a piece of paper. Some might say this was a waste of paper or I could’ve just used my phone to get the recipe, but again, I wanted to avoid looking at my phone as much as possible. Also it was a chance to use my handwriting which I think many of us don’t do anymore since we type everything these days. I remember spending literally an hour trying to sift almond flour with a tiny hand sieve—the only sifting tool I could find at home. Anyone who knows me well enough is aware that I’m not the most patient person, but I used that hour to clear out any mental clutter, and ultimately practice my patience.
I spent the rest of the days enjoying my morning coffee outside on the grass, listening to music, playing with tarot cards, sketching, baking, hanging out with my neighbors and playing and babysitting my brother and his friend Kennedy (I still have multiple bruises on my legs from being ganged up on by the kids during sword fighting).
During the evenings, I spent time reflecting on the day and how I felt. My goal for this mental break was also to reflect on my life, and make any redirections that I needed to make. I asked myself the hard questions I’d been avoiding, made difficult decisions that I know will help me in the long run, and made new plans for my life. I was never one to “check in with myself” in the past. I’m so grateful that I did though because I’ve learned and realized so much about who I am and what I truly want out of life—I want to be 100 percent myself, I wanna be in a career path that I’m passionate about where I’m able to use my talents, I wanna help and make an impact on people’s lives somehow, and I wanna be completely in love with my life and do everything at 100 percent.
Since taking this time to introspect, I’ve felt free, happy, peaceful, and like I’m on the right path. Also, the week after my little break, I received a job offer from a company I’ve wanted to work with since the beginning of the year.
The world has slowed down, and we’ve all been spending more time inside, on our own, alone with our thoughts and feelings. I’ve been speaking to so many friends who feel burnt out with their jobs, unsure of their romantic relationships, or generally just unsatisfied and uncertain of what to do next in life. I’ve advised them all the same thing—take a few days to reflect. How are you, really? Are you where you want to be in life? If not, where or what do you want to be doing instead? Do you feel like you’re on the right path? Are you truly happy?
This sounds extremely cheesy but I wanna share the light and clarity I’ve found through self-reflection and slowing down. ✺ Art by Christine Enriquez
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