Hey friends,
Just touched down in France. Over the next month, this'll be my spot. A place for writing, reading, recharging and generally just letting the creative gears turn. Family time back home was golden – but demanding. I go all in when I'm there, prioritising people over, work and time to myself. Now, in France? It’s time for a bit of “me” time and to be selfish in prioritising my own needs.
There's this funny stigma about being "selfish". Often, it's painted in a bad light - but isn’t it sometimes just about taking a pause, understanding our needs, and refocusing? Just like on a plane, they always tell you to fix your mask first before assisting others. Sometimes you've got to help yourself first before you can help others.
Too many of us get wrapped up in being there for others, sometimes forgetting about our own selves. I've been down that road. When I left for Thailand 7 years ago, it was my leap into the "selfish". I was excited but also weighed down with thoughts of those I was leaving behind. As someone who's naturally tuned into looking out for others, especially with my mum, it wasn't an easy decision.
The outcome? A rollercoaster of emotions, from anxiety peaks to health troughs. Being on my own, especially in the early days, was like learning to walk again, constantly reminding myself to prioritize my own well-being.
But there was a vision – getting my mental and physical health in check, building my online business. I know that to really be there for others, I first had to be there for myself. This wasn't just a month-long mission but something I needed to change fundamentally about myself.
Andy from Headspace touches on a similar idea when meditating. When you sit down to take some time out for yourself. It isn't just about yourself about personal calm; but you can reflect on how finding your own peace and well-being can benefit those around us.
Will leave this week with a little thought.
What if we all embraced a bit more "selfishness" in our lives, maybe, we'd see more genuinely content, happy and fulfilled faces around.
🧖♂️
1. Scheduling Calls
Lately, I've been sharing my book-a-call link with more mates. Okay, it feels a bit OTT at first. But hear me out. It just makes the process of coordinating across different time zones easier. If only WhatsApp had a call-scheduling feature I'd use it in a heartbeat but for now I had to come up with my own solution.
Invested a few hours to get everything rolling on my personal site. I opted for Tidycal over Calendly since it delivers the goods without the monthly fee. Then I just embedded it neatly into my Ghost site.
Fun fact: You can sync it with Stripe for payments. And no, this isn't for charging my mates... at least, not yet. 😉 But it does allow me to offer up consultation calls directly from my site - pretty cool.
Curious about the setup? You can check it out here https://themattlok.com/call/
And that's it for this week folks! Thanks for reading have a great week ahead and I'll catch you next week.
Matt
xx