In a lot of ways, I think we aren’t as willing to trust our instincts as we have been in years past.

We have access to more information about healing the body, mind and spirit than ever before. There is more proof, more insight, and a larger body of evidence to pull wisdom from. Singular paradigms used to drive the generally accepted source of truth, whereas nowadays, we are invited to join the conversation.

Over time, there has been a compilation of available tools and resources for people to pull from, starting with the foundational building blocks of healing: getting enough sleep, better nutrition, the importance of purposeful movement, somatic experience, connecting with nature, tapping into our creative channels, and more. Many of these pathways are low- or no-cost to those who seek them.

Despite the level of available access to information, I noticed something troubling: we as a people seem to be more traumatized and fragmented than ever before.

When I think about it, there seems to be this phenomenon of people who refuse to embrace the solutions that are readily available to them. It’s as if they turn up their nose at the things they perceive as “simple” or “foundational.”

I have seen people balk at some of the simplest tried and true principles of reducing stress, including getting more sleep, and adding a breathwork practice into their routine. Instead, though, they’re willing to shell out $100+ for supplements and products that claim to fix the very thing they think is broken about themselves.

This is a little nutty to me. Since when did we have anything against sleeping or breathing? Is it that we think we’re “too good” to try the simple stuff?

Another thing I notice is this tendency for people to give up on something after giving it just one try. We seem to acknowledge that in order to be successful in life, we have to put in the time and have some skin in the game. When it comes to healing our body and our mind, though, it seems like we are so willing to throw in the towel after a single attempt at anything.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve asked people if they’ve tried certain basic modalities, and their response was, “Oh yeah, I tried that for a little while and it just wasn’t for me.”

We’re talking the most basic of basic’s: practicing better sleep hygiene, reading for a few minutes every day, going for a walk, journaling, stretching, grounding, and going to therapy just to name a few. Unless there is some sort of physical ailment that prevents one from doing any of the above, I struggle to understand why anyone believes that doing any of these things over a given period of time “isn’t for them.”

It’s a little maddening to me that anyone could deny that spending the time and effort to build foundational routines that improve their lives is viewed as a nuisance.

It’s led me to the conclusion that now, more than ever, people aren’t as willing to try.

I’m not sure if it is because of the limited amount time or attention span that several of us are lacking. I don’t know if it’s because people would rather do the things that give them an instant dopamine hit, like doom scrolling or watching tv. Heck, I even wonder if some are simply afraid of feeling “fruity” or too vulnerable, as if connecting wit the self is a sign of weakness.

Nothing in life comes easy or simple if you don’t put some effort into it, though. You have to be willing to try, period. Your body and mind aren’t going to heal themselves. Expensive protocols that don’t address the root cause of our issues aren’t going to fix us.

As we delve deeper into the information age, I fear that people will drift further away from what makes human. We have to stop pretending that we can replace the foundational elements of wellness. Emotional intelligence cannot be substituted with artificial intelligence. If we continue this way, I fear we will destroy the standard for “quality of life.”

We were built to do hard things.

If we can survive thousands of years worth of natural disasters, plagues, and global warfare, then I think we can manage to spend time on the simple stuff, too.

What will you do for yourself today?