💫Relentlessly You 💛
"I am relentless at coming back to myself." — Wanda Holland Greene
This simple thought has been on my mind this week. Wanda Holland Greene, Head of School at The Hamlin School, shared it during our "Bridging The Gap: Black Women Rising in Education" conversation on Tuesday. I love the word she used here: relentless.
Think about the things we associate with "relentless": the rain in San Francisco this winter felt relentless. The never ending content stream of social media is certainly relentless. The needs of our jobs and lives are relentless. They don't stop. They are constant. They return again and again and again.
So why can't we flip that — why shouldn't we be relentless with ourselves? Persistent. Unwilling to give up.
Wanda gave an example on how she does this — life will always give her a reason to go straight to french fries and wine (TBH, same), but that's not what makes her feel good. So she sets herself up by having dinner prepped and waiting for her when she gets home. Even after the longest, hardest day, she's done something simple to make her own life easier. She anticipates what future Wanda is going to need, and then does it for her. That's being relentless in coming back to herself.
She is relentless in knowing the music, the workouts, the food, and the mindset that she needs. She is relentless in coming back to them time and again.
I love this concept of doing something mindful to take care of future, zero energy, drained you. There are days when that means making your bed the way you want to crawl into, ensuring your favorite pjs are laid out, or staying at work until all the emails are answered so you don't have to get back on your computer at night. And there are days that can — and will — mean french fries and wine (or whatever that is for you). Come back to you, relentlessly, every time.
Have a great week.
xo,
Molly
Permission Granted
...to take a do-no-harm approach to yourself.
I ~finally~ said goodbye to uncomfortable footwear a few years ago, so let me tell you I am here for this Tevas moment. It's a yes from me. They look cute with skirts and are comfy as hell for full days into nights of fun. These are my mainstays and I may try a color this summer.
I am a sweets person and sometimes want to take a breather from dairy. My current fave stand in is Vixen Kitchen cashew-based ice cream. It's 🤑 but a little goes a long way and it's delicious so 🤷♀️.
Bathing suits are hard (for me, for many of us). I don't have a solution for that. I do know that this suit from Summersalt makes the whole thing a little easier.
"What are you going to do? Everything, is my guess. It will be a little messy, but embrace the mess. It will be complicated, but rejoice in the complications. It will not be anything like what you think it will be like, but surprises are good for you. And don't be frightened: you can always change your mind." — Nora Epron's Wellesley commencement speech from 1996 is fantastic
Try to have an answer to the question: what is your favorite thing about your body? Lizzo gives Terry Gross a lesson on the current wave of feminism, how we frame body positivity, and so much more. The first 10 minutes alone is a true window into a generational chasm.
Just watch Fleabag, okay? Okay.