Really enjoyed listening to this. You do realise just how unique this podcast is? Two human beings, particularly 2 related human beings, talking in an open-ended, eliciting way on big and small matters. I especially liked the way Ben called stream of consciousness stream of conscience...thank you! helen
thanks Helen, that's such lovely feedback. It's always a little strange recording these conversations in our home and then releasing them for people to listen to — somewhere along the way I usually forget that's what's happening! But that's also the hope we had when we relaunched the pod so I'm thrilled that it's resonating in the way we'd hoped. As always, so so happy to have you listening 💚
I have been really sitting with your conversation all day. I am wondering if the conversation about self-help is “easier” because that can be marketed. In a consumer driven world, it is much easier to buy self-help then self-care, especially in being present in the little repeated moments like stretching at home or opening the blinds. I also wonder if it is just so easy to habituate to our daily practices/habits, that they don’t stay on our radar.
I have been thinking about a holistic self-care because I have been focusing on the “mental” part and it is now time to shift to a more holistic view (more physical and connection), so this plodcast dropped at the perfect time.
I 100% agree Kristen — I think the easier things can be packaged and sold, the easier they will be to serve up to us in digestible ways. Self-care requires work and self-knowledge, which takes time and energy, so doesn't always feel accessible. (But it's so so important)
So glad the plod dropped at a good time for you. It sounds like you're in a period of transition with your own self-care. Go gently with yourself 💚
I really resonated with the idea of ritualizing things we do for self care. I love the idea of doing them with more intention - instead of just tidying (a go-to self-care action for me), making it an intentional acct of self-care. I think that elevates it from just going through the motions to actually, purposefully carrying for yourself.
Also, I've been avoiding morning pages because it felt daunting. I journal most days (generally in the evening), but trying to get out 3 pages in my sometimes rushed morning seems like too much. I don't know why it never occurred to me to just write less. I think I'm going to try morning "notes" and just let myself write as much or as little as I want for now.
It's been such a turning point for me too Anne, realising that those mundane things can be made powerful just by shifting our thoughts around them. And yes! I love those moments when we realise, "Oh, I can change the way I do this thing." It's such a revelation!
Yes, Anne I know exactly what you mean. I used to regard tidying the kitchen bench in the evening as simply "being organised" and when I didn't do it I would berate myself for being disorganised but not magically become "better" at it. As soon as I recognised it as self-care, in terms of how I felt the next morning, it became so much easier to consistently manage.
And I have never been able to write 3 pages (partly because of an old wrist injury) but hey. it turns out that 1 or 1 ½ is pretty useful, too :)
Great open discussion. I love this new format. Thank you : )
I often come back to the New Economics Foundation's five evidence based actions that are important for well being = Connect, Be active, Take notice, Keep learning & Give. You mentioned a lot of things that would fit in with these actions. They often cross over & can be anything!
I needed to hear this right now. I’ve always been someone who is go go go until I get sick and take a week to recover. I was getting better at managing this, and then I had a baby. I have been sick 4 times in 6 months, and that is without day care germs! And then you came along to remind me how important self care is, and working in alignment with my values so I am putting self care and values on the top of my list. Thank you for saying what I needed to hear when I needed to hear it!
Also linked to acknowledging every day acts as self care, I use the same lens to see my life as an adventure, because things like catching a plane should be seen as an adventure and not a chore! I have fallen out of the habit of seeing life as an adventure and I’m going to try and work on this too
I really like the idea of just acknowledging what is already an act of self-care in our lives instead of feeling like trash for not doing the things that normally get marketed as the thing you should do. I'd love to have a bathtub so I could enjoy a bubble bath but I don't have that, so instead I have to appreciate that dancing to k.flay and head-banging to metalcore songs are the things that get all the blah out.
Lovely episode! Sometimes it helps me to see certain types of self-care as "things I can do right now to make Future Geneva's life a little easier or better." That can be an immediate/short-term boost, like tidying up the living room at night so Future Geneva wakes up to a cleaner house in the morning -- or a longer-term commitment to Future Geneva's wellbeing, like taking vitamins and going to the dentist. It can also be more intangible, like making an annoying phone call now so Future Geneva won't have to deal with it.
Framing self-care on these terms can help me separate it from the "bubble baths, shopping sprees, and scented candles" flavor of self-care we're often fed (not that those elements can't be part of it, too!). Self-care doesn't have to be new behaviors we insert into our day -- sometimes, as Brooke said, we just need to reframe the actions/habits we already incorporate into our routine.
Really enjoyed listening to this. You do realise just how unique this podcast is? Two human beings, particularly 2 related human beings, talking in an open-ended, eliciting way on big and small matters. I especially liked the way Ben called stream of consciousness stream of conscience...thank you! helen
thanks Helen, that's such lovely feedback. It's always a little strange recording these conversations in our home and then releasing them for people to listen to — somewhere along the way I usually forget that's what's happening! But that's also the hope we had when we relaunched the pod so I'm thrilled that it's resonating in the way we'd hoped. As always, so so happy to have you listening 💚
I have been really sitting with your conversation all day. I am wondering if the conversation about self-help is “easier” because that can be marketed. In a consumer driven world, it is much easier to buy self-help then self-care, especially in being present in the little repeated moments like stretching at home or opening the blinds. I also wonder if it is just so easy to habituate to our daily practices/habits, that they don’t stay on our radar.
I have been thinking about a holistic self-care because I have been focusing on the “mental” part and it is now time to shift to a more holistic view (more physical and connection), so this plodcast dropped at the perfect time.
I 100% agree Kristen — I think the easier things can be packaged and sold, the easier they will be to serve up to us in digestible ways. Self-care requires work and self-knowledge, which takes time and energy, so doesn't always feel accessible. (But it's so so important)
So glad the plod dropped at a good time for you. It sounds like you're in a period of transition with your own self-care. Go gently with yourself 💚
I really resonated with the idea of ritualizing things we do for self care. I love the idea of doing them with more intention - instead of just tidying (a go-to self-care action for me), making it an intentional acct of self-care. I think that elevates it from just going through the motions to actually, purposefully carrying for yourself.
Also, I've been avoiding morning pages because it felt daunting. I journal most days (generally in the evening), but trying to get out 3 pages in my sometimes rushed morning seems like too much. I don't know why it never occurred to me to just write less. I think I'm going to try morning "notes" and just let myself write as much or as little as I want for now.
It's been such a turning point for me too Anne, realising that those mundane things can be made powerful just by shifting our thoughts around them. And yes! I love those moments when we realise, "Oh, I can change the way I do this thing." It's such a revelation!
Yes, Anne I know exactly what you mean. I used to regard tidying the kitchen bench in the evening as simply "being organised" and when I didn't do it I would berate myself for being disorganised but not magically become "better" at it. As soon as I recognised it as self-care, in terms of how I felt the next morning, it became so much easier to consistently manage.
And I have never been able to write 3 pages (partly because of an old wrist injury) but hey. it turns out that 1 or 1 ½ is pretty useful, too :)
Can't wait to listen, thank you!
I hope you enjoy it Jenna! 💚
Great open discussion. I love this new format. Thank you : )
I often come back to the New Economics Foundation's five evidence based actions that are important for well being = Connect, Be active, Take notice, Keep learning & Give. You mentioned a lot of things that would fit in with these actions. They often cross over & can be anything!
I needed to hear this right now. I’ve always been someone who is go go go until I get sick and take a week to recover. I was getting better at managing this, and then I had a baby. I have been sick 4 times in 6 months, and that is without day care germs! And then you came along to remind me how important self care is, and working in alignment with my values so I am putting self care and values on the top of my list. Thank you for saying what I needed to hear when I needed to hear it!
Also linked to acknowledging every day acts as self care, I use the same lens to see my life as an adventure, because things like catching a plane should be seen as an adventure and not a chore! I have fallen out of the habit of seeing life as an adventure and I’m going to try and work on this too
I really like the idea of just acknowledging what is already an act of self-care in our lives instead of feeling like trash for not doing the things that normally get marketed as the thing you should do. I'd love to have a bathtub so I could enjoy a bubble bath but I don't have that, so instead I have to appreciate that dancing to k.flay and head-banging to metalcore songs are the things that get all the blah out.
Lovely episode! Sometimes it helps me to see certain types of self-care as "things I can do right now to make Future Geneva's life a little easier or better." That can be an immediate/short-term boost, like tidying up the living room at night so Future Geneva wakes up to a cleaner house in the morning -- or a longer-term commitment to Future Geneva's wellbeing, like taking vitamins and going to the dentist. It can also be more intangible, like making an annoying phone call now so Future Geneva won't have to deal with it.
Framing self-care on these terms can help me separate it from the "bubble baths, shopping sprees, and scented candles" flavor of self-care we're often fed (not that those elements can't be part of it, too!). Self-care doesn't have to be new behaviors we insert into our day -- sometimes, as Brooke said, we just need to reframe the actions/habits we already incorporate into our routine.