the great lock-in, but make it soft

if you’ve been online lately, you’ve seen it everywhere—the great lock-in, the winter arc, the ins + outs lists flooding timelines like a collective deep breath before the new year. everyone is “locking in,” recalibrating, promising a better version of themselves before january even arrives. and honestly? i don’t hate the idea. i just refuse the version that feels like punishment.

this is me locking in, but gently. no aesthetic suffering. no reinventing myself overnight. just choosing sustainability over spectacle.

for me, the great lock-in looks like this: doing the small things consistently instead of chasing dramatic transformations. drinking the water. feeding myself without guilt. protecting my sleep like it matters—because it does. setting boundaries without explaining them into the ground. letting rest be productive. choosing peace over proximity. allowing my body to exist without critique. letting healing be quiet and imperfect and still valid.

the winter arc doesn’t have to be about discipline as self-denial. it can be about devotion—to your nervous system, your future self, your softness. it’s about noticing what drains you and slowly, intentionally loosening your grip on it. it’s about building a life that fits instead of forcing yourself to fit inside one that never did.

so here’s my ins + outs, written without performance.

in: consistency that doesn’t exhaust me. routines that support instead of control. money choices that bring relief, not shame. relationships that feel steady and safe. movement that feels kind. saying no without apology. choosing myself in quiet ways. starting now instead of waiting for the calendar to change.

out: all-or-nothing thinking. romanticizing burnout. explaining my worth. doom-scrolling as a coping mechanism. shrinking my needs to keep the peace. goals that require me to abandon myself. waiting for january to give me permission to begin again.

if you’re reading this late at night, still scrolling, still thinking, consider this your sign: you don’t have to lock in harder. you just have to lock in honestly. one small choice at a time. you’re not behind. you’re already on your way.

with ink + bloom, 🌻