Welcome to Newsletter VI (6 in Latin, yeah I’m bilingual no biggy)

Welcome to the July edition! Wow, summer is really flying by, huh? I can already feel the fall crisp in the air. As much as I love summer, I LOVE fall even more, but okay wait, wait, I’ll save my infatuation with autumn for when the September newsletter arrives (gotta remember to stay in the present aka July!).

I had a lot of thoughts this month. Shocker, right? As the month progressed, I toyed around with a bunch of different notions that I wanted to prattle on about in this edition, and I think that is what this newsletter is going to be. A grab-bag of random, unrelated topics and ideals and reminders that were important to me during the month. So, while you might originally come to my newsletters for its stellar uniformity and its raconteur-esque nature, get ready for a change up because today’s edition is going to be a thought dump, a word vomit, a yap sesh, a verbose salad, a…well you get the point. Exhibit A.

Subscriber Shout Out!!

I want to take this moment to shout out the arrival of perhaps the most important subscribers I could ever have: my parents (sorry everyone else)! Unfortunately for me, they share one email so I only gained one subscriber instead of two 😆 but I am very excited to have them join, and thank you Mom and Dad for your support.

Unclench Your Jaw

I noticed that I have been clenching my jaw a lot this past month. Unconsciously. Perhaps I have been doing it for far longer than just now, but I only became privy to it recently. I have been noticing the pressure forming between my teeth and the tightening of my cheeks, and I have to actively force myself to let go, to unclench my jaw.

Do you ever feel like you constantly have a motor running? Like you are always go, go, go?

No, okay sick, well I guess that’s the end of this newsletter. Sike.

Clenching of the jaw, whether voluntary or not, can be a signal of stress. But when we do not even recognize when we are doing it, how do we even know that we are feeling stressed? I suppose harping over when and how and if I am stressed will only further encourage my teeth to clamp down onto one another. So the purpose of this newsletter block is simply to serve as a reminder to you to unclench your jaw.

Some meditation exercises tell me to truly relax and let go. And so, I relax my shoulders and drop my head. And then, they magically call out other areas of my body that I didn’t even realize I was actively engaging, such as my jaw (obvious one), my arms, my eyes (and eyebrows too), my fingers, my ankles, and my mind. Throughout the day, I am expelling unnecessary energy clenching and flexing random muscles that my body is indirectly signaling to me as a sign of tension and/or stress, and it is only when someone calls out my attention to it that I notice that I am doing it. I suppose the TLDR of this passage is: UNCLENCH YOUR JAW. Drop your shoulders. Lower your eyes. Stop bouncing your leg up and down. Take a breath.

Whether you are like me and don’t even realize you are doing it, or you are consciously doing it, perhaps we just need the reminder. To be observant of the fact that we are doing it, perhaps that is most important. As we observe, we become aware, and as we become aware, we become more present in the moment and OH MY GOODNESS it all links together WOW.

You are not your thoughts

I think this is a very important separation to establish. I will keep this section short because I do not want the importance of the message to get lost in my babbling drivel.

You are not your thoughts.

I spend so much time questioning why I feel certain ways. When I experience gross feelings such as being annoyed, jealousy, feeling upset, and insecurity, my immediate subsequent reaction is frustration with experiencing that feeling in general. Why can’t I just feel pure elation all the time? Why can’t I let nothing bother me? Why can’t I be happy and feel good and think positively every second?

The truth is, no one can. And of course, I don’t recognize that.

The point is, you are not your thoughts. A negative thought does not make you a bad person, just like one positive thought does not automatically make you a good person. It is your words and your actions and what you do when no one is watching that truly defines you. So the next time you are upset at yourself for feeling, or not feeling, a certain way, try to remember that it is normal and {fill in the blank} ____________________________.

(Answer: You are not your thoughts)

Are you somebody?

Yes, this part might be cringe but oh well. There was a video I saw awhile ago on Instagram of a woman saying “I know one day, I am going to be somebody,” and then the famous Gary Vee responds to her with, “Look at me…you’re somebody now,” followed by a montage of uplifting clips and main-character-music. Yes, call me cringe, but I love this side of social media: positive, inspiring, hopeful. This is what social media content should be, but I digress.

Despite your thoughts on Gary Vee, I think his response was wonderful. It is such a powerful saying: “You are somebody now.” This goes back to the notions I discussed in earlier newsletters about ascribing your worth and wealth and identity to external or materialistic things.

If I say that I am an athlete, and then tomorrow I break my legs and cannot walk for a while, then who am I? Who will I be? What will I believe I am? Not to say that I am nothing now, but the problem with tying our self-image with our achievements is that if/when we lose those achievements, we lose ourselves.

You are somebody now. You cannot defer your happiness and contentment until you reach what you believe to be “somebody” status because that day will never come.

Oh wow, that was another long one! Thanks for reading all the way through my yap sesh. You a real one 🫡

As I have mentioned, all the tips, notions, thought processes, etc. that I put in here are things I am actively working on improving and implementing within myself. Writing them out also helps me to visualize what to work on and how to do it.

If you have any thoughts, comments, or feedback, please dish it to me! I’d love to know how I can improve. I am glad to have you here on my VasaVita journey.

If you want to talk more about anything I discussed in my newsletters, or want to learn more about VasaVita’s services, story, and goals, check out my website below!

See you in August!

And last but not least, the following growth check!

You all know the drill now: in the sprit of transparency and holding myself accountable, I include my audience count here to keep you apprised on my growth. We got a few newbies here in July – welcome aboard! Happy to have you all :)

Looking forward to ~hopefully~ more growth in August! If you have any ideas or tips, feel free to share!