Blogs

I once spilled an entire bowl of chia pudding down my washed and only ironed top five minutes before a Zoom meeting. Did I cry? No. I stared at the milky carnage, sighed dramatically like I was in a tragic French film, covered it with my favourite shawl, and pretended everything was fine.

Why? Because EVERY DAY IS A FRESH START  my friend, chia explosion or not.

You’ve heard it a million times. “Don’t start your day with the broken pieces of yesterday.” And yet, we still do it. We drag yesterday’s baggage into today like an emotional wheelie suitcase with a wonky wheel squeaking, tripping, and catching on every minor inconvenience.

So, let’s unpack that wheelie suitcase, shall we?

Read more: Don’t Start Your Day with Yesterday’s Sh*t

There was a time, let’s call it my “please like me” era, when I believed that if people just knew my side of the story, they’d get it. They’d understand the choices I made, the reasons I walked away, the tears behind the smile. I used to lie awake crafting entire monologues in my head, how I’d explain it all, with just the right balance of vulnerability, wit and a touch of sass. Surely then they’d see I wasn’t the villain in someone else’s bedtime gossip?

But here’s the truth I had to learn the HARD (and heartbreakingly LIBERATING) way: YOU DON’T OWE anyone your side of the story.

Read more: You Don’t Owe Anyone Your Side of the Story (Even When It’s Tempting to Shout It From the Rooftops)

You’ve heard me say this before (probably more times than you’ve had a proper masala chai):

Self-care is not a luxury – it’s a necessity

It’s not some sparkly Instagram trend that only applies to women who have marble countertops, pastel wardrobes, and full-time nannies. It’s the basic, daily maintenance required to keep your engine from blowing up on the M25 (highway/motorway) of life.

But here’s the thing no one really tells you about self-care:

Sometimes it feels like another damn chore.

Read more: What to Do When Self-Care Feels Like a Burden

You know that moment when you’re standing in the kitchen at 9:47 PM, staring into the fridge, hoping maybe something inspiring will magically appear, even though you’ve checked three times already? Yeah. That’s not hunger. That’s LIFE BURNOUT.

Let’s talk about it.

Because truthfully, we've all hit that point where giving up feels like the only logical solution. When everything feels uphill and you’ve lost count of how many hills there are. (Spoiler: It’s Everest. Emotionally, it’s always Everest.)

But here’s the thing I remind myself, often while covered in cat hair and holding a half-eaten apple: When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place.

Read more: “I’m Done!”… Said Every Legend Right Before a Plot Twist