I’ve been talking a lot about skin care, diet, and lifestyle changes that you should definitely consider making for clear skin… But today I want to take a bit of a turn, onto a subject that’s equally as powerful, if not MOST powerful: mindset, and specifically a pleasure mindset.
The way you think about your experience actually determines your experience. If you call your life a struggle, most likely your life will be a struggle.
One person can have a scary experience and call it “Challenging”, “An adventure!”, “A triumph!” while another person can describe it as “Traumatic!”, “Difficult.”, “Horrible!”… This is a clear difference in mindset.
For this reason, I don’t call my acne journey a “struggle”. I prefer calling it a journey. Sure it was not easy at times, and even downright devastating, but I know that I wouldn’t be the same person I am today without it… And hating the journey would not have given me the results I enjoy today: clear skin.
Today, I want to challenge you to think about your day-to-day life, and see how much pleasure you actually get out of it.
[btx_quote author=””]Are you getting enough pleasure?[/btx_quote]
Especially, in North America, we’ve forgotten what it means to stop and smell the roses. We’re always in a rush, go, go, go. What time is it? I don’t know, but I’m running out of time! We are constantly striving for something, sometimes forgetting to notice and enjoy what is incredibly beautiful, but fleeting, right in front of you.
I’m reading a book about the French culture right now, and what I love most about the French is their ability to find pleasure in the smallest details. They enjoy simple strolls, they enjoy having a leisurely croissant, or the feeling of a fine fabric…
The French are all about rituals of pleasure. They don’t do stuff mindlessly… For some reason I can’t imagine a French person sitting down to a tub of Ben & Jerry’s in front of the TV and polishing the whole thing off.
Instead, they’d go to their favourite ice cream shop, and get their favourite flavour, and probably stroll through a park or a beautiful street savouring every lick of ice cream (this is SO my favourite way to eat ice cream!).
The difference is awareness, and presence. When you are present in an experience, you can enjoy it. It’s the mindless preoccupation of yesterday and tomorrow that ruins the now.
Often when you’re struggling with something as confusing as pimples or a health problem, you probably forget to actually ENJOY and get pleasure from what’s currently in front of you.
You hope and wait for the moment when your skin is clear to finally start enjoying life.
The preoccupation with the outcome (clear skin) becomes all-engrossing and takes you away from enjoying and even just being present in the journey.
But, it’s all about the journey. The more you enjoy the journey, the faster you’ll get the outcome that you want. The secret is pleasure.
When centenarians, people who have lived over 100 years, are asked about their secret to living such a long life… they have two answers.
The first is that they don’t like being around other old people. Why? Because old people usually act old, they walk around hunched and unhappy, and complain about their age and their health.
Centenarians don’t actually feel their age, and so they don’t want to be surrounded by people who remind them that old age can come with a host of negative qualities. Their mindset is just super on point.
But the second answer is that they have rituals of pleasure. They actually take time to enjoy certain things in life — whether it’s their favourite drink, a favourite food, a favourite song…
What Is A Ritual Of Pleasure
A ritual of pleasure is a real enjoyment of a moment. It can be a moment with your favourite song, a piece of chocolate, a certain view, the feeling when the water rushes over your body in the shower…
The point of a ritual of pleasure is to SLOW down and BE present. Or just be.
So what if instead of scarfing down the tub of ice cream, you actually got a pretty bowl and put a scoop of it in there. Then sat in your favourite spot, and looked out the window while enjoying, and savouring every bite…
You’d probably feel full after half a scoop, because you were present!
You don’t actually need a whole tub of ice cream or a whole cake to feel joyful… it’s about quality, not quantity.
One bite of the best thing, mindfully tasted and savoured, can be so much more enjoyable than the whole thing!
How Can Rituals Of Pleasure Help You Get Clear Skin
I’m trying to get you to start feeling good for a reason. When you’re feeling pleasure, and getting joy out of life — then the struggle ends.
I know what it’s like to feel bad. But I also know that it takes much longer to accomplish anything while feeling bad, than feeling good.
My positive outlook helped me navigate more smoothly through my journey to clear skin. I found pleasure in the little things, around me… Friday night mani/pedi sessions with a good movie, night runs around my neighbourhood while everyone is already sleeping, the water streaming down my body in the shower, the feel of a book in my hands, my first sip of lemon water in the morning, my favourite dark chocolate bar, laughing about life with close friends…
Experiencing pleasure helped me stay more sane and positive when times got tough.
Your thoughts, beliefs, outlook, and mindset all determine your results. So try to see joy in the process.
Join me in stopping and smelling the roses.
Love,
Olena
P.S. I’ve shared my best 28 hacks for clear skin in my 28 Days Of Clear Skin video series. You can sign up to get every single hack in your inbox here!
