The Highest Form of Self-Care

As much as I don't want to admit it, the most powerful realization I came to this year is that I need to get better at feeling bad.

I've decided that self-care isn't about feeling good all the time. 

I'm going to feel more uncomfortable, uncertain, awkward, nervous and vulnerable in 2026.

So I can have more real conversations, say what I really think, eat more real food, have more real experiences, create real community with genuine connection.

Be REAL.

That means less junk: less holding back, less scrolling to watch others' experiences, less empty calories, less empty online interaction, less hiding from how I really feel, less comparison and self-judgment, less fear of rejection and criticism. 

There's a simple word for this: Discipline. 

It's nothing more complicated than deciding what I want and then doing what I need to do to create it. 

Keeping commitments to myself as well as I keep them for others. 

Discipline is the highest form of self-care.