The other day, I emailed my writing coach, Alex, and she sent me the following reply:
“I’m secretly working in Hawaii this week,” she said. “Barely anybody knows where I am.”
Then she emailed me a photo of a super-deluxe cheese platter and said,
“This is what I packed and brought onto the plane. Flying coach, but feelin’ first class.”
You know when you see a photo of something—a sunset, a baby, a puppy—and you have an intense emotional reaction? “So beautiful!” “How precious!” “Be still, my beating heart!”
That’s how I felt looking at Alex’s cheese board. Because it’s not just a cheese board. It represents so much more.
It represents a woman saying, “I’m taking myself on an amazing trip because it’s my life, and I can do what I want.”
It represents a woman saying, “I want to savor every moment of my life, eat the best possible food, and take excellent care of my body.”
It represents a woman saying, “I deserve nice things and nice experiences—and I can create exquisite experiences for myself, even if I don’t have a millionaire budget.”
I emailed Alex back and said, “I am totally doing that on my next flight! No more peanuts for me!”
No more peanuts, people. We need to stop settling for mediocrity in our lives, in our careers, and on our plates. We need to remind ourselves, “I deserve so much more, and I can create so much more.”
Think about your life. Identify one area where you’ve been settling for a tiny bag of crappy free airplane peanuts—or worse. Promise yourself that you’ll do something to change that. Pack a different lunch. Make a different choice. Say “No” to a commitment that drains the light out of your eyes. Take a relaxing bath before bedtime instead of watching that terrifying, violent TV show that gives you nightmares. Take the time to build the fancy cheese board—or metaphorical equivalent—that you deserve.
You can have something better. There’s always some way to upgrade your situation—even if you’ve got limited time, money, and energy to spare.
Do something, this week, to make your life feel a little less “coach,” and a little more “first class.” You’ll feel happier, stronger, and more creative, and it will become easier to reach all of your goals.
“Nourish yourself in a way that helps you blossom in the direction you want to go. You are worth the effort.” —Deborah Day
You are worth the effort, worth the love, worth the fanciest cheese, and so much more.
