In your back-to-school feelings?
Feeling some kind of way about this time of year? The season may be the reason.
This time of the year feels like a familiar passage, a new year for the majority of us. After all, the requisite 9 months or so of school is considered a school year. With a minimum of 13 formative years during on that September to May calendar, it’s no wonder this time of year may invoke feelings of anticipation or angst. Those feelings are ingrained.
"Think like a child. Act like an adult." – not Steve Harvey
In the northern hemisphere, summer has a way of relaxing us, physiologically speaking, putting us in a summer daze. Heat is a natural muscle relaxant. With longer periods of daylight, we can pack in fun activities and, ideally, self-care into our daily routines. If you’re lucky, you were able to enjoy a summer vacation and/or the new summer Fridays now a thing in almost half of modern workplaces.
You may recall that once that first day of school begins, fear turns into excitement (hopefully) and the new school year not only brings new possibilities, but a beautiful new season.
Don’t forget to play:
With Mixolo, we want you to keep looking forward to new beginnings with the wonder of “back to school.” While learning prepares us for living our best life, playing teaches us how.
The most obvious benefit of play is that joyful flow feeling, not to be underestimated or limited to “child’s play,” but the other life skills we learn, such as kindness, empathy, and being a team player are also invaluable. The emotional intelligence gained and overall sense of wellbeing realized from engaging in flow activities make us better individuals, team players, co-workers and citizens.
As we enter into the fall and winter months, our Circadian rhythms, produced naturally by the body and driven by exposure to light, are disrupted. According to psychologists, "abnormal" Circadian rhythms have also been associated with chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity and can exacerbate mental illnesses like depression and seasonal defective disorder (SAD).
Though those back-to-school feelings may be hardwired and feel more like back-to-business at this stage in our lives, we can keep playing and building our social muscles. People are social. Business is social.
Look on the bright side of adulting:
“To feel the joy of life, go where your heart is taking you.” ― Debasish Mridha
Get into those feelings with the anticipation of all that fall brings and celebrate that you are the adult in charge of what makes you feel joy EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK.
Like last year's Sowebo 5K Landmark run and walk, all you need to do is start. Watch and feel the joy...
We're not saying experiencing joy can cure serious illnesses, but it can change your your mind - and your body - for the better. Consider pursuing joy as if you are entitled to it, whatever your station in life. Any personal or professional endeavor we approach begrudgingly may not be worth pursuing.
Now, get out and play!
“In life, you will always find what you are looking for.” ― Debasish Mridha
At Mixolo, we’re creating a community of adventurers who want to opt-in, with our without a plus-one, and get the most out of this one life at work, at school or at play. It's all life. Why not live it well? The worst that can happen: you thrive and you enjoy a supportive community on life’s playground.
All that said, we realize many of our early adopter members are still waiting for Mixolo to show up! We are not above recommending that you go ahead and do what you love solo with a “competitor,” especially if you’re opting out of life because you feel you need to convince a plus-one to pursue that thing you really want to do.
In fact, we've started a Meetup group for our solos to be able to find each other and organize their own activities. While we created it with a geographic limitation that must be set for a group, Mixolo solos from everywhere, even our most patient members outside of the US, can use our group as a source for finding and creating activities in their city.
We’re also listing some of our Mixolo-curated events in the Meetup group.
Eventbrite, Facebook. and other events platforms have events literally everywhere. #justgosolo
Feeling weird about the stranger thing? Turns out strangers are more likely to give you happy feelings. You’re probably already riding with them, dating them or sleeping with them (Airbnb, OK!). You can get some tips from our “how to talk to strangers” blog post from the archives that has stood the test of shy.
Embrace the power of solo:
Mixolo is focused on curated, solo-friendly experiences and showing hospitality, entertainment hosts and venues that it’s good business and fun to focus on and accommodate solo patrons, a new and rising demographic in the US and the world, and to ensure a connected experience beyond customer-in, customer-out. Those occasional awkward non-greetings or feelings when you arrive solo at any venue or event will soon be a thing of the past with Mixolo.
We are building a business, yes, but bigger than that is the cultural movement underway. It’s a tall order, but we are making headway and some notable others agree. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Fortune 100 product companies see the shift and are addressing it with packaging and amenities that fit the solo consumer. 30% of households have single occupants in the US, 45% in Canada. The world is trending solo.
As consumers, we now have many, many choices – customer experience will be the new differentiator.
Happy New Year to all! Now get out and play. #mixolo #gosolo #noplusonerequired.
“Every morning you are younger than you will ever be. Enjoy the day.” ― Debasish Mridha