Every morning, many people open their phones to a flood of 5 a.m. Pilates, Sunday “resets” and color-coded calendars. Seemingly endless videos of extensive morning routines with waking up early, skin care, hitting the gym followed by a full day of responsibilities. Despite what is portrayed online, many people are exhausted behind these self-care routines. The heavy weight of expectations for wellness is causing psychological unraveling. The need for order, discipline and achievement has pushed wellness culture into a toxic and stressful area. While scrolling through these so-called wellness videos, I can’t help but wonder, is it still a rest and reset if it’s being performed online?
You may be familiar with trends online such as becoming “that girl” and other self-improvement messages. The “that girl” trend turns wellness into a lifestyle performance. It is a rigid script of hyper productivity that promises balance but often delivers quiet anxiety and constant comparison. Every month, there seems to be a new method online to improve yourself. Whether it be your appearance, your academics, or even how you spend your afternoons. Seeing people constantly doing more than you causes intense pressure to keep up. In a culture that rewards constant productivity and self-improvement, it seems like we are all married to the hustle.
Romanticizing your responsibilities can be fun. Sometimes it is calming to wake up early and hit the gym before classes, Sunday cleaning days can be relaxing and help you feel refreshed. But the keyword is sometimes, because having an extensive wellness ritual every day causes more stress than serenity. In our hustle culture, constant self-optimization is often fueled by the fear of not being enough. Online wellness culture has become so wrapped up in comparison that resting is guilt-ridden, and wellness is a competition. So, what does personal wellness look like when you strip it of aesthetics?
It can be fun and relaxing to participate in aesthetic beauty routines and self-care. Finding time to get into the gym, eating healthily and adopting hobbies like journaling are all great ways to improve your mental health. However, personal wellness is not only self-improvement. Real personal wellness often includes boundaries, imperfection and being present in the moment. Try slowing down once in a while, doing less and disconnecting from comparison culture. By doing this more often, we can remind ourselves that we don’t need to constantly be sprinting and competing with each other. Real wellness is not a performance that you see online, but something that you feel, quietly and on your own. Feeling at peace with who you are, where you are and what you have accomplished is the real key to finding personal wellness. In this hustle culture that we live in, it is important to remind ourselves that we are doing fine. Â