Wellness Advice To Boot: From Chelsea Handler

All hail Chelsea!

If you have yet to listen to Chelsea Handler’s podcast — aptly named “Dear Chelsea” — you’re missing out. Her years of therapy are paying off and she is back and better than ever. Highly recommend. Also can’t wait for the release of her next book.

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Happy Friday.

Pop the champagne. Or rather, the Sancerre, my new favorite. Summer is coming to a close, hoodies are on the brink of replacing tank tops, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Summer is fabulous, don’t get me wrong. But so is Fall.

That said, the change in seasons usually calls for a change in mindset — one of refresh, optimism, and overall eagerness to do better — be it with work, your marriage, or a new fitness regime. And if you’re an overachiever, all three.

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I was listening to Chelsea’s podcast convo with Oliver Hudson (brother to Kate Hudson, son of Goldie Hawn, if you’re not up to speed) to which Ollie was seeking career advice from Chelsea on how to have better work ethic. And let me tell you, I felt seen.

Oliver, in his cool-and-confident-as-a-cucumber manner, stated: “I love the fun of life. I’m good at that part. But I don’t have the greatest work ethic. The question is, do I remain content with where I’m at, or do I shift myself to try and realize my full potential?”

I MEAN. I too, am good at fun! Talk about my daily struggle for the past 6 years. Does anyone else feel this way? Grappling with the conflicting concepts of living a simple life with a simple job vs. working yourself into the ground to achieve “success,” be it the climbing of the corporate ladder or making a name for yourself via your own business?

I’ve spent the last several years trying to figure out how to make a living having fun, and I’m determined to prove myself (and others — Jake, are you reading this?) right.

Chels warmly responded to O: “When there’s an imbalance between play and work, you can feel it and you can change it — the joy that you get from your play life will go over to the joy that you get from your work life.”

This is so much easier said than done — and not even novel advice — but it’s helpful to hear such positive-yet-practical advice from an outsider, especially when that outsider is a celeb who is well-versed in therapy. Am I right?

Hi Oliver.

But it got me thinking…

There is no one right answer (or one linear path) to whether or not we should strive for a “simple life” or a more complex one. As with anything, it’s case specific. The problem is, we let the ringing bells of society muffle our inner voices that are desperately trying to tell us what is right for us.

I think the real piece of advice — as it pertains to our careers specifically — is to write down what’s most important to us in life, and then reverse engineer how to get there. I will go first!

1. My relationships with people (family, friends, and beyond).

2. My experiences with those people (trips, dinners, parties, getaways).

3. Helping people like me (bored SAHMs, women with mental health issues, entrepreneurs hungry to create meaningful businesses) feel awesome about themselves through ways I know best THAT WILL MAKE ME MONEY — aka style + writing + fun having.

OK NOW! Getting somewhere.

The key to this exercise is to BE HONEST. If money is the most important thing to you for example, then that is your primary motivation. This is not a bad thing PS if money is your primary motivation. I don’t understand why we still feel shame and guilt around wanting money. We need it to live. Money = Freedom. Do people forget this?

I will say I’ve been watching so many rich people dramas lately (and reading a murder mystery) that I’m starting to confuse the storylines with my dreams and even with my own reality. A fun cocktail for bored stay-at-home moms!

The Gist

Essentially, we are all longing for the same thing in life, and that is meaning. I believe when we have meaning in our homes, through our friendships, and within our careers, we feel COMPLETE. And when we feel complete, we feel free to do what we want to do, say what we want to say, and be who we want to be. Isn’t that the ultimate goal for all of us?

Also I don’t really believe in mistakes. Everything along the way that isn’t aligned with our values and pursuits of fun & money & freedom & adventure is nothing more than a learning curve and a lesson.

Thank you for reading. See you next week.

Be you. A more aligned you.

Xo, Ash