The Best Secret to Make Your Daily Life Easier
I’ve been enjoying my new NYC balcony all summer long and have fallen in love with tending to my hibiscus tree and little rose bushes. Learning how to care for these beauties holds many symbolic lessons and reminds me daily how we can grow abundantly and easefully.
I wash my hair and air-dry it in the sun while welcoming new buds (I’m not crazy! Studies show that talking to them helps foster growth, and apparently, they respond better to female vs. male voices!), watering, and pruning or deadheading them.
My flowers + metaphorical garden
The art of pruning (cutting away dead parts) is meditative and has practical benefits as it encourages strong growth, increases flower blooms, and improves plant health. In other words, it paves the way for easeful growth.
Pruning reminds me of the “pulling weeds” system in the Savor Beauty Planner. In this metaphorical garden, pulling weeds is first doing the stuff you like least. It is an important task that needs to get done, but it’s often the most difficult or unpleasant.
One of my daily affirmations is “easy breezy”, and simple rituals and systems help make this happen.
As life gets busy, it’s easy to put off mundane things like making doctor or vet appointments, getting the car oil changed, or reading through a contract. This procrastination can create stress and overwhelm because we often race against a clock to get it all done when left to the last minute.
When I do my weekly Mind + Mask Detox ritual, I often pull out the to-dos and put them into my weeds for the week. These are the nonglamorous activities we often procrastinate over or don’t want to handle. And left unattended, our gardens become unruly, messy, and chaotic.
But if we pull these weeds on a daily basis, we actually enjoy the clearing process so that our metaphorical gardens can blossom with beautiful flowers.
Think of “weeds” as the operational or logistical tasks that are not the most energizing tasks on our lists, but they bring simplicity and ease to life.
For example:
• Open mail.
• Organize paperwork.
• Clean out the closet.
• Visit vet for pet’s annual shots.
• Do laundry.
• Reconcile financial statements.
• Choose outfits for the week.
• Buy doggie bags.
• Paint bedroom.
• Get oil changed.
• Renew passport.
• Deep-clean fridge.
Remember: self-care is an action for which your future self will thank you!
We often want to procrastinate these to-dos, but the sooner we get them done, the sooner we can savor and enjoy our day. And if you make pulling weeds a daily ritual, it will make your life so much easier!
Here’s a ritual from Radical Radiance: 12 Weeks of Self-Love Rituals to help you radiate calm and peace by pulling your weeds.
RITUAL: Pull Weeds Daily
To start every day feeling calm and organized
Time: Up to 1 hour, daily
Ingredients: Pen and paper, a digital device, or the Savor Beauty Planner
Pull “weeds” daily for an easier life
Try to hold the space for weed pulling in the morning so that you can enjoy the rest of the day!
1. Write. Start by writing down three weeds that you need to pull daily. Refer to your Weekly Mind Detox list, or ask yourself, “What are some tasks I’ve been procrastinating?”
2. Affirm. Create an intention before you start, such as, “I create ease in my life.”
3. Pull. If it’s challenging to get started on pulling your weeds, set a seven-minute timer and hold the space for momentum.
4. Check. Have a check-mark party! 🎉 Studies show that checking things off your list gives you a sense of accomplishment and the motivation to keep going.
Edited excerpt from RADICAL RADIANCE: 12 Weeks of Self-Love Rituals by Angela Jia Kim.
Copyright © 2022 by the author and reprinted with permission of St. Martin's Publishing Group.
