THE WRISTBAND THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

Three weeks ago, I was in Las Vegas, staying at a resort that brought me right back to my childhood. We used to have a timeshare in Montana, and I have so many happy memories there (hunting for golf balls at dusk, eating pizza the size of the table - true story! - and sliding down waterslides in hyperchlorinated water), so I just loved this resort in Las Vegas.

There was one important upgrade, though. When I checked in, they gave me not just a key card but also a wristband that got me into the room, the gym, and the pool.

I wore it the whole time (even though it was definitely not the height of fashion and didn’t match my super cute outfits).

Here’s the thing I couldn’t stop thinking about the entire trip: that little blue band saved me so much time and energy it was almost embarrassing. Not because it was high-tech. Not because it was clever. Because it was ready. Right there on my wrist, no bag required, no wallet, no three-minute search through a purse that moonlights as a bottomless portal to the netherworld. I just walked straight to wherever I was going, waved my wrist and - poof - got in.

Just like that! No friction. No energy required. Just access.

(Here’s an unflattering photo of me and the wristband. I swear I took at least a dozen, and this was the best of the bunch. Consider yourself privileged to even cast your eyes upon this sweaty post-run image.)

I’ve been thinking about that unstylish but super useful wristband ever since, because that is exactly what it feels like to have a go-to practice for how to create coherence in your system.

Not a whole ritual. Not a forty-five-minute morning routine you’ll likely abandon eventually. Just one tool on your wrist (so to speak) that you can reach for in any moment: between meetings, in the middle of a conversation that’s going sideways, at Costco when the cart in front of you literally has one item of everything offered in the entire warehouse (we’ve all been there), or even during a conversation that feels wonderful and you want to stay connected to yourself inside of it.

That’s the difference between knowing about self-care and actually having it in your body, right there, ready to go.

Most of us have absorbed a lot of information about how to be well. We’ve read the books, done the courses, listened to the podcasts on our jaunty walks. And yet in the actual moments that matter, we reach for our bag and the card isn’t there.

The information isn’t the problem. Integration is.

And integration doesn’t happen in your head. It happens when a practice lives in your body so completely that you can access it anywhere, without thinking, without setup, without remembering to remember. Not more to learn, but a handy-dandy wristband. Something that’s already with you when you need it.

I’ve been using one particular practice for years and it’s become exactly that for me. Less than sixty seconds. No props. Works in the middle of a difficult conversation, a spiraling thought loop, a moment of self-doubt right before you walk into a room. I’ve taught it to clients who now reach for it the way you’d reach for your wristband heading to the gym: automatically, without breaking stride.

What it does is teach the mind to stay home inside the body while you’re fully engaged with the world outside it. Those two things, being present inward and outward at the same time, are not in conflict. Most of us just haven’t been shown how.

If you’re already a paid member, the step-by-step practice is waiting for you below. If you’re not yet a paid subscriber and you just felt that little pull while reading this… that’s the wristband calling. $7 a month is what it costs to stop reading about the tool and have it on your body.

Here’s something worth getting real cozy with: wherever your attention goes, your energy goes with it. That part makes intuitive sense. What’s less intuitive is how far outside ourselves we’ve trained our attention to go, and how much it costs us.

Most of us, most of the time, are pouring our energy onto the outer world. The person across the table. The inbox. The thing we said last Tuesday that we’re still mulling over in hopes that all the mulling will create a different result (PSA: it doesn’t). Our energy is external, and we come home from a day of work feeling like we’ve been poured out. Puddle-like.

We think this is how you show up for people. You give them all of you. You focus entirely on them. But that’s not what makes a conversation land, or a relationship work, or a presentation powerful. What makes those things land is you being fully present, in your own body, while you’re with someone. That’s a very different posture, and it’s one the body can actually sustain.

The practice I’m sharing below shows you exactly how to do that, step by step, and once you have it, you’ll have it everywhere you go.

So there you have it: a wristband for your mind, body, and spirit. No bottomless bag required.

With easy-access love and ninja-level courage,

Christina

🕺🏻 Creator of Courageous Self-Care

🕺🏻 After years (YEARS!!!) of wanting to do this, I’m going to experiment with having a cleaning service help out in our home. Yippee!

🕺🏻 Looking forward to celebrating my son’s graduation this week. Once he’s finished high school, it feels like we’ll be embarking on a new adventure. I know many of you have been there. It’s a bittersweet time shrouded in mystery. I’ll probably write about it someday soon…

PSST! (So much more exciting than PS, don’t you think?) The paid version of this issue has the full practice. If you’ve been reading and thinking “I need the goods! Not just the concept!” $7 a month is how you get it.

Already a paid subscriber? Keep reading for the Step-by-step practice below ⬇️