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For a long time, being successful meant ticking off a few boxes: a partner, a house, children, a stable job... Today, satisfying that checklist is no longer enough; you also have to“ be happy”, feel good in your own skin – and make sure everyone knows about it( hello, social media). The success of professional athletes who swear their morning routine makes them both zen and ultra-efficient is proof enough, and nothing less rigorous will do. With this new Holy Grail on display everywhere we look, there’ s a strong temptation to jump on the bandwagon and rise at dawn to perform rituals as strict as any military bootcamp.
Wake at 4 a. m.( or 5, if you like to sleep in); do your workout( or maybe 100 sun salutations); next, an hour of meditation( at least!); positive affirmations; write in a gratitude journal( no simple statements like“ I managed to find a carpark in Port Louis yesterday” please)... all before eating a breakfast that rates zero on the glycaemic index and beginning the working day. Did you miss a step? Find it all just too exhausting to contemplate? Too bad! That just means you don’ t know how to manage your energy …
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Hashtag‘ perfection’
Well-being, or simply‘ wellness’, has become a huge market, from apps of every kind to self-help books and a veritable host of influencers with perfectly-whitened smiles. Today, it’ s not only your doctor who advises you to reduce your sugar intake and take up jogging, but what sometimes feels like the whole of society, starting with your Instagram feed, as it overflows with green smoothies, mantras, and perfectly-honed bodies. A new social norm is gaining ground – compulsory happiness, complete with a deluge of posts that simply drip with positivity: it’ s less about wanting to feel good and more about proving it.
There’ s nothing wrong with taking care of yourself, of course. When that turns into a performance(“ see how this increases my productivity – again!”), or some sort of sideshow … Eating healthily, exercising, practising mindfulness; these small( and undeniably beneficial) actions are
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brandished as if they are somehow proof of a successful life, but as we strive to reach“ perfection”, we also increase our feelings of guilt, we compare ourselves to others, we set unattainable goals... and the quest for well-being begins to resemble an unending competition. Stressing yourself out in order to feel better about yourself: spot the mistake...
Happiness should not be a goal that must be achieved at all costs, but a personal, even private experience – no hashtags, no filters. If that means lazing in bed until 9am( we’ ll keep that between us!), swapping the hallowed matcha for a slightly too strong coffee, taking a walk without a smart device counting your steps, and not posting anything at all on social media, so be it! What matters in the end is rediscovering one simple freedom: the freedom to listen to yourself, without any need to prove anything to anyone.
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There ' s nothing wrong with taking care of yourself, of course. |
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