Do What You Have To Do (And the Rest Sorts Itself Out)

Not to be dramatic or anything but I have been struggling these last few weeks with my mental health. 

There’s nothing to specifically put my finger on apart from… like, everything. The world is incredibly heavy at the minute, but also explosive. Every day there’s new horror and there’s just no way of making sense of it. 

I’m sat here trying to explain the stuff I know, build an audience for the business that I just want to get going with, being held back by stuff outside of my control but also sort of thinking - what is the point of this, if everything is on fire? 

I’ve also been ill four separate times over the last three months. Some sort of flu just before Christmas and then three bouts of cold since. Then we had to move and I just feel exhausted. 

How to get back on it when you’re feeling rough

As I was in the shower just now, I put together a thought which felt so important that I literally had to jump out and write it down - my page ripped from the sogginess!

You should be very grateful I type these blogs so you don’t have to decipher my handwriting.

It’s not a brand new thought, it’s probably not world-changing, but it is a thread which has been woven through every good part of and every good time in my life:

You do what you have to do and the rest sorts itself out

This week I’ve been feeling physically better so I’m doing the things that I know I have to do to stay on top of my mental health. I’m not feeling up to the gym yet, but I’ve been out walking in the sunshine, I’ve done some skincare, got back on top of my personal finances and I can feel myself starting to relax a little. 

These little moments have started some momentum and that forward motion leads me to maybe do the dishes whilst I’m waiting for my kettle to boil and maybe take out the recycling so the kitchen is clear. Then I’ve got a spot to sit down and think about what I need to work on this week and it reminds me that I wanted to repot my money plants so I make a plan to pick up some soil later on…

I feel brighter and I’ve started. 

Unlearning Diet Culture

The first time I really noticed this effect was when I was unlearning diet culture through weight lifting. I was excited about the exercise part of it but really quite worried about the food part because of my history with disordered eating. I was really resistant but I also always try and make the most out of the decisions that I make - like being part of the program. 

It’s not the space to go into it here, and there’s a lot more to it, but in essence, the coach’s philosophy was to concentrate on getting a balance of vegetables and protein and let everything else sort itself out.

If you were getting enough of those things, you were less likely to be hungry so less likely to fall face first into biscuits but if that happened, the aim was still simply balancing vegetables and protein - so you didn’t need to counter balance all the ‘terrible’ things you did by starving yourself - just, focus on the veg and protein.

I’m not suggesting that this would work for an olympic athlete but my goodness it worked for me! It felt additive - not counting calories or reducing fun but simply increasing veg and proteins. It felt simple - two little things to worry about. It felt honest - things will go wrong but you’ve got a path which is just, protein and veg.

Other Connections

The shower thought was that this also connects with Marie Kondo - who you know I love. She tells you not to buy any organisation boxes, or make storage decisions until you’ve done finished your sorting, because once you’ve done that, you will magically find that you already have enough space and enough organisation stuff. It just happens. 

It also fits in with the Profit First book (that’s an affiliate link) which is what I wanted to talk about this week but actually haven’t got around to rereading. I don’t feel like I can explain that connection without getting into the whole thing (which I want to do, just when I’m ready to do it properly) but I remember whole-heartedly thinking, as I was reading, there was no way this would work but it did. I simply made the small decisions, with a little thought, and the rest flowed as it should. I can’t wait to speak more on this, I think you’re going to love it!

This is not an excuse to look away

I’m not suggesting that by doing little things like this, the horror in the world will reduce, but I am suggesting that we’ve got no other option.

We do what we can do - that includes voting, staying up to date with what’s going on (within reason), sending money or volunteering time and resources, educating yourself, spending money intentionally, building strong community here at home, checking in with people and finding joy with people and then allow everything else work itself out.

So this week, I’m going to do my best to do what’s right and then, just relax and I hope you can too.

Love Eleanor. Xxx