Hi Friend,
Have you ever struggled with the need to want what you want right now?
It’s such a human trait, but I’ve noticed the older I get, the more I want things to happen at the pace that I want, not necessarily the pace of what is meant to be.
Sometimes I think, If I can just think about it hard enough, plan meticulously enough, hustle long enough, then life will cooperate in the ways I want it to. But that’s acting from a place of force, not flow, and it’s a sure path to burnout and discontentment. When I operate from that place, I’m bound to start spiraling: “Am I behind?” “Why isn’t this working?” “Did I miss it?” And the frustration cycle loops around and around.
But when I look at nature and the world around us, this isn’t the natural way in which the world works.
A tree doesn’t wake up one day deciding it’s going to be tall and grow branches by the end of the week. A flower doesn’t bloom because it’s impatient. Nature becomes what it’s meant to become through tiny patterns of nourishment: water, sun, rest, and most importantly, time.
To see the bloom, you need consistent care.
So sometimes when you feel “stuck” in life what it really is is the middle of a season where we don’t feel like we’re at the beginning, but we can’t quite see the end yet. And the thing about the middle is that the roots are strengthening, the soil is softening, and the background work you’ve put into your goals and your life is still happening…even if you can’t see the bloom yet.
Trust the process and continue the care. Your blossoms will bloom in time. 🌸
Rachel
📖 Know
A study found that rumination can act like a bridge between stressful events and later symptoms of anxiety and depression — meaning it’s not just the stressor itself, but the loop of replaying it in our minds that can intensify how we feel over time. That’s why releasing the need to force an outcome (and returning to steady, grounded care) can be so regulating for both the mind and body.
Source: Rumination as a Mechanism Linking Stressful Life Events to Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety: Longitudinal Evidence in Early Adolescents and Adults
🌱 Begin
Name the season you’re in right now and take one next step:
⭐️ Starting: Write the first “messy” sentence of your season — the frustrating thought you keep ruminating on. Name it to tame it.
Ex: “I don’t know why I’m so impatient right now but I am.”
⭐️ Creating: Name one thing you’re working toward (a conversation, a habit, a project, a version of you).
Ex: Having a hard conversation, training for a 5K, starting a creative hobby, saving money
⭐️ Simplifying: Remove one thing from life that feels heavy or causes you even the slightest internal tension (a task, a commitment).
Ex: Unsubscribe from one email that adds noise not peace to your life, pick one task to delegate/delete/delay, cancel one non-essential thing on your calendar this week
⭐️ Waiting: Do one supportive action (eat, hydrate, step outside) and stop trying to force clarity today.
Ex: Eat something healthy and simple and let that be the only “fix” to worry about today, drink a full glass of water, step outside for fresh air
⛰️ Explore
How to shift burnout patterns and return to calm progress.
✨ Reflect
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” — Lao Tzu
Where am I trying to rush an outcome right now and what would it look like to stay steady and keep caring for it, without forcing the timeline?
📍 Currently…
A curated collection of interesting articles, interviews, products that are currently on my radar.
✨ I’ve been alluding to health challenges and going through a tough time…Here’s my very personal update. ♥
✨ If you’ve been feeling a little “tired but wired” lately, this is a simple guide to help you start calming the signals (without doing everything at once): How to heal a dysregulated nervous system
✨ When anxious thoughts start looping, these grounding ideas can bring you back to the present in a way that’s fast, practical, and body-based: Grounding techniques for anxious thoughts
✨ If your calendar is starting to feel like it’s running you, this is your reminder that it’s okay to step off autopilot and opt out of what’s draining you: Say no to recurring commitments
✨ On Friday, August 21, at 12pm ET, I will be moderating a discussion with a physician and nutritionist from The Ultrawellness Center on autism spectrum disorder. If you would like to learn more about being on the spectrum and what a functional medicine approach looks like to care, please register here.
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