Let me be real with you for a second, girlfriend.
There are mornings when the sofa wins. When the to-do list is long, the coffee is hot, and absolutely nothing in your body wants to cooperate. You know you should get up. You know you should do something. And yet — there you are. Horizontal. Negotiating with yourself like you're on a hostage call.
Been there. More times than I'm going to count.
And here's what I figured out on one of those mornings: I didn't need motivation. I didn't need a plan. I didn't need a vision board or a podcast or a pep talk from the universe.
I needed mascara.
That's it. That was the whole assignment.
The One Rule That Changed My Mornings
On the days the sofa wins, I give myself exactly one rule: just put on the mascara.
Not get dressed. Not make a plan. Not answer emails or return texts or tackle anything on the list.
Just. The. Mascara.
And you want to know what happens? Every single time — not sometimes, not most times, every time — something shifts. I get up to get to the mirror. Then I'm standing. Then I notice I'm actually kind of awake.
Then I think, well, I'm already up…
And momentum happens. Not because I forced it. Not because I white-knuckled my way through willpower. But because I changed my physiology first.
That's not woo-woo, Sis. That is neuroscience.
Your Body Goes First. Your Mind Follows.
Tony Robbins built an empire on this. The idea that you cannot think your way into a better state — you have to move your way there first.
Your body and your brain are in constant conversation. When you're slouched on the sofa in yesterday's pajamas, your nervous system gets a message: we are not okay, stay down. But when you stand up, walk to a mirror, and do one intentional act for yourself? The message changes. We are showing up. We are in this.
The mascara is the signal.
It doesn't matter if you're going nowhere. It doesn't matter if the only one who sees you today is your dog. You're not doing it for anyone else. You're doing it to tell your own brain:
I'm here. I'm choosing me. We're moving.
And Then There Are the Power Hoops.
Okay, can we talk about my earrings for a second? Because this is important.
I have a pair of hoops — big, silver, bold — that I put on when I need to signal to myself that I am showing up today. Not just existing. Not just getting through. Showing up.
I call them my Power Hoops. And I wear them on the days I need them most.
Something happens when you put on your thing. Your power thing. The earrings, the lipstick, the specific pair of shoes, your grandmother's ring. Whatever it is — there is a version of you that that thing activates. She's been there all along. She just needed a signal.
This is called an anchor in psychology. A sensory cue that's been paired with a state of mind through repetition. You put that thing on enough times when you were confident, capable, her — and eventually the thing starts calling her forward on its own.
So what's yours?
This Is Not About Looking Good for Anyone Else.
I want to be clear about something, because this is not about beauty standards or performing for the world or having it together on the outside when you're falling apart on the inside.
This is about the conversation you're having with yourself.
When you skip the mascara, skip the hoops, skip the power thing — you're not being real or raw or authentic. You're just sending yourself a signal that today doesn't count. That you don't count. That showing up for yourself can wait.
And it can't. It never could.
The mascara is the mindfulness practice. The power hoops are the mindfulness practice. The act of doing one thing that says I am worth showing up for — that's the whole practice. That's the whole curriculum.
Here's Your Assignment
Tomorrow morning, before you check your phone, before you answer a single thing from anyone else — I want you to do your one thing.
Maybe it's mascara. Maybe it's your power hoops. Maybe it's the good perfume, the specific playlist, the bright lipstick you save for "real days."
Girlfriend, this IS a real day. You are a real day.
Put it on. Stand up. Tell your nervous system we're showing up today.
And then tell me what your power thing is — I genuinely want to know. We're building something here, Sassy Sister, and it starts with you standing up.
💜 With love and the biggest hoops I own,
Shar
P.S. — We're talking ALL about the Mascara Method and Power Hoops when Bubble and Hoops launches on YouTube Live — May 15th! Bring your drink, bring your power thing, and come tell me what it is live. Kitchen table's open. 💜
📢📢📢 P.S.S. - Want the full Mascara Method toolkit? Click below Join the Sassy Girlfriends List and drop your email! It's that easy!
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