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Self Care Newsletter Vol#89 Week #1 "Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence." Vince Lombardi
Published about 3 hours ago • 10 min read
Rejuvenate & Thrive
NURTURE YOUR ESSENCE
Focus:
"Presence Over Perfection"
"The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it."
Thích Nhất Hạnh
Your Weekly
Intentional & Sustainable Self-Care Newsletter
Volume #89
"Presence Over Perfection"
"How often are you so focused on the outcome that you miss the present moment? I spent years chasing the "right way" to do things—precision, perfection, getting it right the first time. But I was blind to what mattered: the journey itself. I was so fixated on the destination that I never actually saw the steps that got me there. I filled in the gaps with imitation instead of presence.
There's confusion built into how we define perfection. We think it means doing everything flawlessly and exactly right. But presence does something different. It creates the space, the conditions, and the support to see the vision clearly—to notice the parts that make up the whole, not just the end result. Presence helps us see what we've been missing. Perfection leads us astray.
I had a rude awakening when I realized no one was coming to save me. My journey of learning presence began there—in that moment of standing alone. And slowly, I started to understand: presence is the gateway to meeting myself. My inner self had been speaking to me my whole life, but I couldn't hear it over the noise of trying to get things "right." Perfection offers a false sense of control. In real life, there is no perfection. There is only living your life, knowing it, loving it, and being present while you do.
We've all fallen into the trap of believing that self-care means an aesthetic morning routine, a spotless journal, meditating for an hour in absolute silence, and sipping a green juice as the sun rises. The moment life gets messy, we abandon self-care entirely because we missed a day or didn't do it "right." As your strategist, I'm here to free you from that tyranny. Honest, imperfect self-care—a three-second breath in your car, a messy prayer on your kitchen floor, a boundary whispered through a tired voice—is infinitely more meaningful than a rigid, pristine routine you cannot sustain. This day, we trade the exhaustion of perfection for the power of presence."
Chakra Activation: Root (Muladhara) Grounded Presence To release the need for perfection, we must anchor back into the solid, unshakeable earth. The Root Chakra, located at the base of your spine, connects you to physical reality and reminds you that your worth does not depend on your performance.
The Physical Anchor: Sit back comfortably in your chair, uncross your arms and legs, and plant both feet firmly flat on the floor. Feel the steady support of the ground beneath you.
The Visualization: Imagine roots extending down from the soles of your feet into the rich, warm earth, anchoring you so deeply that no expectation or standard can knock you off balance.
The Breath: Inhale slowly for four counts, drawing stability up from the earth into your center. Exhale fully for six counts, whispering internally: "I am enough right now."
The Affirmation: Whisper or think: "Presence over perfection. I choose honesty over ideals."
The Seal: Press your feet gently into the floor, locking in this grounded presence for this day.
The Strategist's View: As a strategist, I look at rigid routines as brittle architecture. Strategic shifts for this beautiful rising:
The Myth of the Ideal Routine: A routine that only works when your life is calm, your schedule is clear, and your energy is 100% isn't self-care—it's a performance. Real self-care is elastic, messy, and adapts to your actual capacity.
Listening to Physical Data: Physical tension, exhaustion, restlessness, and discomfort are not signs that you failed your routine; they are communication deserving your attention. If your body is screaming for rest, pushing through a "perfect" workout or routine isn't discipline; it's self-abandonment.
Stillness as Presence, Not Performance: Stillness is not another task to complete. You don't get bonus points for a "pretty" meditation. One conscious breath taken in the middle of a chaotic kitchen is worth more than an hour of forced silence you resented every minute of.
The "Minimum Viable Self-Care" Protocol: Let's design a sustainable, real-life strategy. Grab your phone or a notebook.
Expose the Ideal: Write down the exhausting, rigid standard you've been holding yourself to (e.g., "I must meditate for 30 minutes every day or it doesn't count").
Define the Minimum Viable Practice (MVP): What is a 60-second version of that care that you can actually sustain on your hardest day? (e.g., "Three deep breaths before I get out of the car").
Release the Guilt: Write down: "My worth and my well-being do not depend on a flawless routine."
The Commitment: Write: "I choose honest, imperfect presence over a perfect performance."
The Integration Protocol: True sustainable transformation requires a pause before we chase the next standard. Before you attempt to fix your routine or build a new habit, integrate this shift through three distinct phases:
Tap into Awareness: Bring your focus completely into your physical body right now. Notice where you are holding tension from trying to measure up to an impossible ideal. Acknowledge that exhaustion without judgment.
Sense It and Sit With It: Do not rush to fix your schedule, organize your life, or draft a new plan. Sit right in the middle of the mess. Let your nervous system experience what it feels like to just be, without needing to perform or optimize your existence.
Allowing and Receiving: Stop forcing perfection. Open your hands, drop your shoulders, and simply allow your real, unedited life to be enough. Receive the deep peace of your own authentic presence before you ever try to give birth to a new action, a new standard, or a new step forward.
Food for Thought: If you completely stopped trying to maintain an impressive, picture-perfect wellness routine and instead focused entirely on offering yourself one tiny, honest act of kindness each day, how much lighter would your spirit feel?
Wisdom Insight: Honest, imperfect self-care is infinitely more powerful than an ideal routine you cannot sustain. This day, put down the pressure of perfection and let your presence be enough.
Be Blissful,
Dr. MoJo: Self-Care Strategist
Virtual Sound BathExperience
RELAX. RESTORE.RECONNECT.
As the days grow shorter from the fall equinox through the winter solstice, we are invited to turn inward. Join us for a soothing Virtual Sound Bath Experience from the comfort and safety of your own space. Led by Dr. MoJo, these 30-minute immersive sessions use the calming resonance of crystal singing bowls to help you unwind, reset, and find your center as seasons shift.
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"Your Healthy MoJo~Self-Care Strategist: The Chakra Series."
This essential collection, created by Dr. MoJo, guides you through a profound journey of self-discovery and energetic alignment, spanning from the grounding Earth Star and Root to the divine connection of the Crown Chakra.
Each of the eight energy centers (Earth Star, Root, Sacral, Solar Plexus, Heart, Throat, Third Eye, and Crown) is addressed with its own dedicated, transformative recording paired with an in-depth eBook to solidify your understanding and practice.
Individually, each Chakra recording and eBook bundle is available for $25.00, offering a powerful, focused self-care strategy. However, when you purchase two or more Chakra bundles, the price drops to just $20.00 each. Start your personalized healing journey today and feel the difference of a balanced, vibrant self.
A Sacred Welcome: "You Don't Have to Get Self-Care Right"
Wholeness, Beautiful Soul✨!
What if your self-care did not have to look perfect to be meaningful?
What if you could stop measuring your healing by how consistently you journal, meditate, exercise, eat well, stay positive, or hold everything together—and begin measuring it by something much simpler:
Were you present with yourself?
Not perfect. Not polished. Not performing wellness. Present.
This week, I invite you to release the pressure to “do self-care right.” Sustainable self-care is not another standard you must live up to. It is a relationship you build with yourself—one honest moment at a time.
You may miss the rising meditation. You may feel angry after doing your breathwork. You may cry instead of journaling. You may know better and still struggle to do better.
None of that disqualifies you from caring for yourself.
You do not have to perform your healing.
You only have to be willing to meet yourself where you are.
Food For Thought:
Nourishment for Your Soul:
"Presence Over Perfection"
Perfection keeps asking, “Am I doing this right?”
Presence asks, “What is true for me right now?”
That difference matters.When self-care becomes another performance, we can become more concerned with completing the practice than connecting with ourselves. We meditate but never acknowledge our anger. We journal but write what sounds spiritually evolved instead of what we actually feel. We repeat affirmations while quietly rejecting the sadness underneath them.
We may even rush to turn every difficult feeling into a lesson.
But sometimes sadness needs to be sadness before it becomes wisdom.
Sometimes anger needs to be acknowledged before it becomes clarity.
Sometimes disappointment needs room to breathe before we ask what it came to teach us.
Every emotion does not need an immediate solution.
Presence allows us to say, “This is here.”
"The Inner Voice It Never Stopped Speaking"
Before the routines, affirmations, planners, responsibilities, expectations, roles, and titles, there was a voice within you.
She never stopped speaking.
You may have stopped hearing her.
She whispered when you were tired but kept going.
She tightened your chest when something didn't feel right.
She became restless when you kept saying yes after your heart had already said no.
She spoke through tears you tried to hold back and through anger you thought you were not supposed to feel.
She spoke when your body wanted stillness but your mind insisted you should be doing more.
That inner voice does not require perfection from you.
She requires your attention.
Presence is how you begin listening again.
A Reflection to Carry with You
The goal is not to become a woman who never feels uncomfortable emotions. The deeper work is becoming a woman who can remain present with herself when they arrive.
Put your hand over your heart and quietly say:
“I hear you. I am here. You don't have to disappear for me to love myself.”
That is presence.
That is relationship.
That is Coming Home to YOU.
"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in."
Leonard Cohen
"The meeting of two eternities, the past and the future… is precisely the present moment."
Henry David Thoreau
WISDOM FROM SPIRITUAL MOTHERS & FATHERS
Louise Hay: "If I wait until I become perfect before I love myself, I will waste my whole life.
"Maya Angelou: "You did what you knew how to do, and when you knew better, you did better.
"Iyanla Vanzant: "Comparison is an act of violence against the self.
"Queen Afua: "Your body is your first home. Every meal, every thought, every breath either heals it or harms it. Choose healing."
Closing: Heart-to-Heart
Beautiful soul, your healing does not require a flawless performance. Some days you will journal, meditate, move your body, drink your water, honor your boundaries, and feel deeply connected to yourself. Other days, self-care may simply be admitting, “Today is hard, and I need to be gentle with myself.”
Both count.
Intentional Sustainable Self-Care™ is not about creating another routine you must perfectly maintain. It is about learning how to remain in relationship with yourself through the changing seasons of your life. The goal is not perfection—it is presence. Honest, imperfect self-care will always be more meaningful than an ideal routine you cannot sustain.
Keep Coming Home to YOU—one honest, intentional, sustainable moment at a time.
Your Self-Care Strategist 💕
P.S. Beautiful soul, when you notice yourself falling short of the self-care routine you imagined, resist turning that moment into another reason to criticize yourself. Pause. Ask, “What do I genuinely need right now?” Let the answer be simple. Let it be imperfect. Let it change from yesterday. Your willingness to listen is already an act of self-care. You do not need a perfect practice to build a loving relationship with yourself. Presence is the practice.
"Nothing to prove. Nothing to perform. Just a willingness to be present with the woman you are becoming."
“You are your own best thing.”
Toni Morrison
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"Your Healthy MoJo~Self-Care Strategist: The Chakra Series."This essential collection, created by Dr. MoJo, guides you through a profound journey of self-discovery and energetic alignment, spanning from the grounding Earth Star and Root to the divine connection of the Crown Chakra.
Each of the eight energy centers (Earth Star, Root, Sacral, Solar Plexus, Heart, Throat, Third Eye, and Crown) is addressed with its own dedicated, transformative recording paired with an in-depth eBook to solidify your understanding and practice. Individually, each Chakra recording and eBook bundle is available for $25.00, offering a powerful, focused self-care strategy.
However, when you purchase two or more Chakra bundles, the price drops to just $20.00 each. Start your personalized healing journey today and feel the difference of a balanced, vibrant self.
Subscribe to the Intentional Self-Care newsletter and join a community of women ready to reclaim their well-being. Expect inspiring insights, actionable tips, affirmations, and transformative self-care wisdom designed to uplift, empower, and nurture your heart and soul each day.
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