As much as I adore the trends that come along with self-care, personal development and becoming the dreamiest version of yourself, there is a lot of commercialisation of these things. I’m not here to tell you that you should go fully minimalist and never treat yourself again. I love a spoiling myself as much as the next girl buuut we can sometimes get trapped into the idea that we can’t start living our best life until we’ve bought this or paid for that.
The truth is you don’t need to buy anything to start creating your dream life. You just have to start showing up in a way that aligns with it. As someone who’s been in this space for a longgg time I’ve seen so many phases and fads that I can’t even remember half of them. And I used to be such an easy target because I believed I needed those things. So, allow me to deinfluence you and help you switch from needing to being.
quick disclaimer: this is not me demonising anything in this post or trying to tell you how to spend your money. it’s just a reminder that these things aren’t required. if you want them — get them, treat yourself. just don’t get stuck into the trap of believing you can’t live the life you want without them ♡
a 12-step daily skincare routine.
Trust me girl, I’ve been tricked into this one too. We all love some glowy skin, it’s a massive confidence booster but let me hold your hand when I say this: the skincare routine that works is the one you can consistently stick to. Most of us are too busy to be applying 12 different products so the chances of that routine being done consistently enough to make any difference is slim.
My morning routine is two steps and my evening routine is three steps. And the gag is? My skin looks better than it ever has because I can actually stick to that routine. Let’s stop overwhelming ourselves and emptying our bank accounts for a routine we won’t even stick to.
every little micro trend going.
This might be an unpopular opinion but one of the things I find most chic is when someone doesn’t follow the micro trends. When someone just has their own personal style and that’s what they feel comfortable and confident in.
Don’t get me wrong, some of the trends are cute but you don’t need to buy a new wardrobe every six months to fit what social media says look cute. Spend some time getting clear on what patterns, fabrics and styles make you feel most yourself and create a wardrobe around them.
a thousand systems.
Okay I’m calling myself out here because I am a recovering system swapper. I’d see one video of how someone organises their life and suddenly I’m redoing my whole system. It can be easy to see something working for someone else and want to incorporate it. Take inspiration from these videos or posts to build your own system. The cycle of buying the digital planner, the Notion template and then the subscription for the habit tracker app is hard to break but I believe in you angel.
Even as someone who creates content around organisation and planning, I don’t want people to copy my exact system because chances are it won’t 100% fit them. Consume this content and take the parts you think would work for you but leave whatever doesn’t feel aligned. The best system is the one built around your own life, goals and visions.
the made up starter pack.
A lot of habits, routines and lifestyles seem to have these little starter packs attached to them. Like, you can’t start going to the gym until you’ve spent £60 on a matching set. Or you can’t start doing skincare consistently until you’ve bought a whole new routine. Will these things help? Maybe.. but they’re not required.
You can start your workout journey in a tshirt and leggings. You can start skincare with the products you have. And so on and so on. I feel like these little starter packs we’ve invented are another form of procrastination. So just start without these things. Always remember:
“The cost of procrastination is the life you could’ve lived.”
a gentle reminder.
If something is going to make you happy, then get it by all means. But don’t let anyone convince you that you need a product or subscription before you can start creating the life you dream of. All you need to do that is a plan, self-belief and some consistency and babe, that is all free of charge.
Love ya, Cait xo
