5 Ways I Curated my relationship with Pleasure
I remember waking up at 5am, rushing to work, staying late– it sometimes felt like a competition for who stayed latest. The prize? Bragging rights. But getting home at 8:30pm everyday of the week was not just physically taxing, it was emotionally depleting. I began to resent my relationship to work until I realized I was the only one who could change that. I had nothing to “prove,” I had the job and didn’t have to set myself on fire to prove I deserved it.
I began to actively seek pleasurable ways to engage in my life. I started with five key actions.
5. I journaled. I let myself brain dump everything that was sitting on my chest and in my heart and lying doormat in my body. I let the pages have my anxiety. My rage. My resentment. All of it. And I watched as the ink bled from my pen to the white space between the straight blue lines.
4. I said “YES.” “Want to go to an event this weekend?” YES. “Want to grab dinner on a work night?” I ONE HUNDRED PERCENT DO. “Want to book a trip to Dubai because the tickets are really cheap?” Let me get my wallet! I was willing to say yes when I felt it instead of suffocating it. As a result, I stopped suffocating.
3. I said “No.” It wasn’t sexy, but it was honest. I used no when saying yes meant betraying myself, so I had to learn my own boundaries, even if it was something “I liked,” there were other questions I needed to consider.
2. I made my home my haven. I began to discover my creativity and style when I was intentional about having my home be a pleasure place to live.
1. I made a life for myself outside of work. I discovered that I loved creating art. So I did just that. I found an artist residency program, applied and created. I realized that I loved dates– so I calendared solo dates, friend dates, bouquet making parties. All the things. I made time for my life. I made time for the life I wanted.
I was born worthy. I was worthy then. And am now. And so are you.
You are worthy of pleasure. Of curating your relationship with pleasure and watch your light brighten and life shift.
Check out www.miadunlap.com for my exclusive on #Pleasure. I did not hold back.