No fast food. No fast beauty. No fast relationships.
I feel extremely fortunate to have grown up during a time without the Internet and everything that comes with it. Remember before we were on AIM, before we had cell phones and before carefully crafting our MySpace profiles, things were a lot simpler. We actually had to wait by our phones if we were expecting a call, and I don't know about you, but I loved recording my voicemail with the help of Gwen Stefani. Back then, Cosmopolitan magazine was the authority for my friends and I and MTV music videos were the ultimate form of entertainment. It's amazing how much has changed in really, so little time.
“Even though the industry moves fast, I’m slowing down. For me, it’s about quality content and not the quantity of content that counts. ”
After reading this New York Times piece, "The Not-So-Glossy Future of Magazines," I felt grateful to have been a print beauty writer before these times, but also sad that it truly is the end of an error. These days, as you know, a writer's job is to create engaging content, strategize on how it will perform per social platform and analyze results. However, thanks to the shift in responsibilities, we're all moving at such a rapid pace that anxiety is what makes us successful. Even though the industry moves fast, I'm slowing down. For me, it's about quality content and not the quantity of content that counts.
As I sit here thinking about my past week, to-do list and upcoming schedule for the month, I'm exhausted! This week, I had the opportunity to meet with a CEO of an indie beauty brand for tea in Soho and had a conversation that made me take a pause. It was then that I realized I was actually breathing for the fist time in two weeks. "I can't keep up," I told her.
Breath, our life force, is something that through my meditation and yoga practices, I learned how to utilize in order to feel my best and help me remain in the present moment. Therefore, being able to give 100% (or close) to everything I do. Lately, as I run around NYC for TV segments, beauty events and meetings and document every step of the way on social media, I realized that I haven't been practicing self care or working in a way that's been fulfilling. Being busy is different from being productive and when you add self care into the equation it becomes apparent. For me personally, I blame social media for the shift and the new ways of the industry. It feels like I'm chasing something that I'll never get ahead of and just want to be.
And while I'm passionate about writing my blog and curating my Instagram feed, I'm reminded again that It's important to give yourself permission to pause. To take a time out and reevaluate how and where you're spending your time. And as they say, let go of what no longer serves you. Today, I canceled all of my meetings and to-dos, I didn't even work out (and I've been squeezing in two workouts per day) and took time to catch up, which allowed me this time to think and reflect.
My content began to shift into more of a wellness focus and away from #fastbeauty #trendingstories and #celebrityculture a few years ago before I even became a yoga teacher and holistic health coach. Staying true to who I am and what I'm passionate about, I'm happy to have created and maintained a space that inspires and educates others. Yes, of course you can check out my unboxing Facebook Lives and beauty trend segments on NBC, but here you can also find permission to breathe. After all, it's all about balance, right?
