The Brightside Vol 16

May 1st, 2020

ON REPEAT:

Love Again, Dua Lipa

WELCOME TO THE BRIGHTSIDE

Whoa … it’s May. What the &*%!? How’s everyone doing out there? I’m hanging in there. My mental health has been more consistent these past few weeks—thanks to therapy and a good workout routine—but I still feel kind of overwhelmed and I start to go down rabbit holes I shouldn’t. It happens basically anytime I try to conceptualize the long term effects of all this. It feels impossible right now— but here’s to hoping May brings some clarity and progress.

Highs:

Giving myself an at-home pedicure!!! Anyone who's tried this knows that this is a difficult task. TT (Zach's mom) picked me up a pedicure kit when she was at Walgreens this week, and I used all the tools, and painted my toenails and I'm actually so proud! I feel like... a lot better about myself. It's the small wins, ya know?

Zach and I also watched Moana this week, which I'd never seen (how?!) and oh my god, tears! It was so good!!


Lows: 

I've probably talked your ear off by this point about a 20% Project that I'm working on (a 20% project is something we have at Google that allows you to dedicate 20% of your time to something outside your core role) and I'm like, really enjoying the one I'm working on right now. Let me be clear: this project is by no means a low, at all! In fact, the project itself is definitely a high. The "low" part is that I was feeling pretty insecure this week about coming off as too "green" and overeager, which triggered some good ol' fashioned imposters syndrome. This experience is something I feel like Career Coaching definitely helped deal with though ... I've tried to take a step back and reframe the insecurity as "ok, how are my strengths coming through here and what kind of energy am I bringing to the table?". It helps block some of that negative self-talk. Anyway ... enough of that!

What I've been reading ...

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
I finally finished Maybe You Should Talk to Someone which had been on my list fo' eva-eva. Honestly, it was a little longer than I thought it needed to be—the end took me a while to get through, but overall it was worth it. I found it very relatable to my own therapy experience, and honestly I’m not sure if I would have enjoyed it as much if I wasn’t going through it myself, but who knows. You tell me! Have you read it?

Song of Achilles
I read this in like, a week. So good, you guys—emotional though! It’s the story of Achilles told from the perspective of his best friend, Patroclus (who I knew nothing about before). I was craving something that would totally take me out of this world, and this did just that. Highly recommend.

City of Girls
I’m halfway through this! I fell in love with Meg Gilbert after reading Big Magic, and I was excited to dig into one of her fiction books. I have to admit, this isn’t necessarily the “universe” I was craving to throw myself into (I think I was also still stuck in the fantasy of Greek mythology), but it’s a fun story. It’s set in 1940s New York and is narrated by 19 year old Vivian, a vivacious Vassar exile (I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself with the alliteration).

Design Your Worklife
This one is the most recent book that I started—I wanted something to keep the momentum of my career coaching sessions going and this is the PERFECT book for that. I’m so happy I added it to my Kindle! It’s written by these two guys who created the Life Design Lab at Stanford. It’s all about applying a design-thinking mindset to your work world to literally “design” your career. I’m getting a lot out of it.

The Week in Pictures

Guest Post: Megan Gerspach on Workouts

I'm so excited to have my friend Meg here today sharing her workout tips that have been getting her through quarantine. I trust Megan above ANYONE on this topic - I've already tried the Melissa Wood Health that she recommended and it's been amazing. Take it away, Meg!

Heyy Brightside fam! Meg here, coworker turned friend turned fitness pal of the lovely Bogs <3

I miss going to the gym 4-5x in a week and splurging on the occasional Rumble or Barry’s class. Relocating indefinitely from NYC to my parents’ house 7 weeks ago, I was nervous not only about the prospect of WFH, but of WOFH (Working Out From Home) too!

It is in quarantimes like these that I am SO thankful for the online fitness community

 Ever since I learned of Kayla Itsines’ Bikini Body Guide (if you know, you KNOW!) back in 2014, I have gotten a lot of my fitspiration from Instagram. There is no shortage of workout ideas out there! And as the fitness community is stuck at home too, there’s lots of at-home exercises, follow-along classes, and free trials at our fingertips! Here’s what’s keeping me active…

Online/Apps: I joined Obé Fitness (free 30-day trial, $27 mo.) and have been LIVING for their live streaming and On Demand classes (ranging from HIIT to pilates). My sister also introduced me to Melissa Wood Health (free 7-day trial, $10/mo.), where low impact classes aim at developing “long lean lines”. Both also offer guided stretching and meditation classes, highly recommend. A vendor of mine also shared this list with her clients a few weeks back.

Instagram! The below are some faves of mine, all of whom have been posting body weight workouts:

@whitneyysimmons
@krissycela
@cristinacapron
@Emrickettz
@Doyourumble and Rumble trainer @Erikaannhammond IGTV workouts

Running! I am by no means a runner, but with nowhere to be, time to kill, and an extra appreciation for fresh air, I’ve found it easier to run longer distances! I bring a mask with me in case I run into crowds around the neighborhood.

REST: I’ve heard a lot of peers talk about how they are working out MORE to fill the time, but please listen to your body. Rest and recovery are still important

Stay strong!
Meg

@mgerspach, share some of your fave accounts/posts with me!

Oops. I actually DID buy this.

To get in touch, contribute, or just chat, reach out at [email protected] 

To share the sunshine, feel free to pass on this link: https://mailchi.mp/04ccf65ea193/thebrightside 

happy brightsiding,