Welcome to the first PRIME Weekly Wellness! I am excited to share this new format for the weekly email. I’d love for you to reach out and let me know what you think 🙂
Act: One thing to try
Reflect: One idea to consider
Connect: New resources, behind the scenes peeks on what is coming up next, and stories from life with chronic illness.
Act:
Try giving yourself some slack. You are dealing with enough already. You do not need to add the weight of expectation — whether your own expectations or the expectations of others.
Think:
This (seemingly) small action was inspired by an interview I did with Tay Francis. Did you know that there is no academic research using the term “self-sabotage”? There is no evidence to support the concept at all. Tay shares a bit shares a bit more about the origins in the interview.
I think the term has become so widely used because it speaks to a feeling that we have all experienced. We feel like we should be able to do it all. We want to do it all. Other people (supposedly) are doing it all. So why can’t I?
Why do I end up scrolling on my phone for hours every night instead of working on a side hustle? Why do I eat “junk food” instead of the “healthy” meal plan that I created? Why don’t I do the workouts that I planned, when I know it would be good for me and I feel great when I do it?
The fact is that no one is doing everything. There are only 24 hours in a day. If you added up all the time it would take you to sleep, work, eat, workout, meditate, journal, read, spend quality time with friends, going on a date night, cook, spend time on your hobbies… It would take more than 24 hours do to everything in a day, every day.
And that’s even before you consider the fact that you have chronic pain and fatigue. It takes more effort for you do to some things, and you need more time for rest and recovery. So once you tack that on, it’s pretty clear:
We have set the bar FAR too high.
Is it any wonder that we end up paralyzed by the weight of it all?
Instead, give yourself some slack. Set the bar at the Bare Minimum. And when you have extra time and energy, embrace it joyfully.
For more thoughts about “self-sabotage” read on.
https://tayfrancis.substack.com/p/ca9f1b9b-0856-4d41-8a7e-4597177c1bde
Connect:
New & Ready Now
As I shared above, you can go read the interview I did with Tay on self-sabotage. It was a fantastic conversation and I think she has captured it well in this written version.
Get Excited
This week I’m starting work on a updated version of the Bare Minimum Health Plan. Once I edit, update, and expand it, I’ll be making it available as a physical book!
Sam’s Stories
It has been a while since the last podcast. I even took a break from the Weekly Letters emails for longer than I anticipated. I knew I would be taking a little break in July from weekly emails as I was going to be away from the office for a couple of weeks, and then I would need some time to catch back up on everything that inevitably happens when you are away.
But then life happened. I had to pause and reflect on where I was putting my focus and energy. In that process, I also was inspired to create this new format for the weekly letters, along with a new name!
The name comes from an acronym that I use in my individual coaching and that the Bare Minimum Health Plan ebook is structured around:
* Planning
* Recovery
* Intuition
* Movement
* Eating
PRIME!
I also love the acronym because it points towards both towards the foundation (primal) as well as the peak (best quality). This is the duality that I am seeking to embrace when I talk about the Bare Minimum Health Plan. By focusing on the foundation and simplifying — lowering the bar in a way — you end up at a much better place.
Until next week, cut yourself some slack and keep moving forward,- Samantha 💜
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bareminimumhealth.substack.com
