Self-care vs instant gratification in winter
Tonight: we meet online for our November book club + last call for this week's London meet + what happens at a Shelf Help workshop anyway?
Hello everybody,
Is it just me or does instant gratification feel much easier as we head into winter?
Hitting the snooze button, drinking 3 coffees a day, letting iPlayer roll on to another episode of Industry instead of going to bed, cancelling any plans that involve actually leaving the house, eating pizza on a Monday.*
If you’ve been reading our BOTM, Self-Care for Winter, you’ll know by now that this need to cocoon and carb-up is perfectly natural. We’re animals. And as animals in the northern hemisphere we innately feel the call to retreat and hibernate at this time of year.
And you’ll also know that we need to modify our self-care according to these changing needs, and that sometimes that will look like doing the hard(er) thing.
(*I’ve spent enough time with behaviour expert Shahroo Izadi btw to know that it’s ok to eat pizza on a Monday - or any day of the week - or to drink 3 coffees/day if that works for you. But these are a couple of my personal self-care boundaries so if I’m doing these things then I know something needs to be tweaked)
The simplest (and best!) definition of self-care I have ever heard from Suzy is: “Doing things today that will make tomorrow easier.”
“Self-care is doing things today that will make tomorrow easier.”
Suzy Reading
Instant gratification is often the complete antithesis of this, making decisions now that will make later harder.
I asked Google: Is instant gratification good or bad?
Google told me: “Instant gratification can have both positive and negative effects. While it can increase mood and motivation, it can also lead to poor choices, mental health issues, and long-term problems. The impulsive decision to immediately fulfill a desire can lead to making poor choices. The lack of planning and thought can also lead to one not getting exactly what is wanted or needed”.
Which I think is a pretty spot on description, and learning to manage our moods and mental health with the right things and good life choices is one of the key teachings of this book (and all of Suzy’s work).
“Instant gratification can lead to poor choices, mental health issues, and long-term problems. The lack of planning and thought can also lead to one not getting exactly what is wanted or needed”.
Reflective, Resourced & Ready
TONIGHT it’s our November Book Club meetup online and we’ll look at how we can improve our seasonal self-care using Suzy’s first 3 steps of winter well-being; harnessing light & colour, making healthy movement a habit and embracing nature.
We’ll get reflective with some guided journalling, we’ll get resourced as we workshop strategies inspired by the book (this is an interactive session and there will be breakout groups) and we’ll get ready as we commit to a couple of simple self-care actions in the coming weeks.
Book Club members/subscribers will find tonight’s event information and this week’s BOTM reading target in the Members Only section below, and non-members can join the fun by subscribing to the Clubhouse experience and community today (and all are welcome tonight).
See you on screen…?
Toni 💛
PS: LONDON - we’ll be getting reflective, resourced and ready IN REAL LIFE at our London self-care for winter workshop at The Hearth (NW6) this week. Last tickets available from them HERE.
