September 20, 2018
The two questions we've gotten most since Shine started two years ago? 1. "Are you actually in my head, Shine?!" and 2. "How can I save my fav Shine Texts?"
We heard you—and we’re excited to announce that you can now favorite Shine Texts in our iOS app. Save and collect the texts you love and start building your own self-care toolkit. Or, keep ‘em for reference when you need to serve up some wisdom in the group text.
The feature is part of Shine Premium, and you can download the app now to start your free seven-day trial. What you’ll also get: 100+ audio self-care tracks, including seven-day challenges on topics like self-love and productivity.
To celebrate the launch of #favs, here are 17 of Shine HQ’s favorite Shine Texts—because we definitely find ourselves saying "Get out of my head, Shine!" too:
Cat, Software Engineer
Shine Text: 'Oof I’m always so (sensitive? busy? late?).' We all have self-narratives. But you're the editor. Today, test a new story.
Why it's a fav: As someone who can easily get into a funk with unhealthy self-narratives, this came at a time when I really needed that reminder to let go of previous stories I tell myself and then have the agency to reshape it.
Angela, User Acquisition
Shine Text: 'Just give me a sec to change my mind 72 times.' Yup, FOBO—fear of better options—can grind us to a halt. Today, find joy with *Mostly Fine Decisions.*
Why it's a fav: This text spoke to me because it finally put a term on how I feel 90 percent of the time I have to make a decision. It’s still a work in progress. But now whenever I’m hit with the crippling feeling of not being able to decide, I’ll call myself out on feeling the FOBO and try to knock it down with a MFD (Mostly Fine Decision) so I don’t fall into the spiral of not deciding at all.
Colleen, Growth
Shine Text: The past held uncertainty & you rose to the occasion every. single. Time. Today, tell self-doubt to take a seat & watch you *work.* 💃
Why it's a fav: When you're growing up, there's so much that's planned for you in the near future. You know after middle school that you're going to go to high school. You know after high school that you're probably going to go to college or start working. Once you get out of school and have been in a job for a little while sometimes it can be easy to fall into this trap that you need someone to tell you what's next or give you permission. I loved this text because I was going through a rough patch where a few things in my life weren't going exactly as planned, and this text helped me remember that it's OK to take risks and fail big. It's better than having that nagging "what if" feeling.
Martha, Content Strategist
Shine Text: Reminder: When we allow ourselves to not be the *best*, we tap our passion. Own this week like a life-long learner. 💪
Why it's a fav: In the article with this text, L'Oreal mentions that on social media, we're comparing every aspect of our lives—including the rough patches—to other people's "highlight reels," and that was the first time I had thought about my Instagram or Twitter like that. When it gets to be overwhelming from time to time, I always remind myself of just that and allow myself to set boundaries with, well, myself. Just having a reminder that it's OK to step back from social media and examine it's place in my head was super important for me to read.
Mia, UX
Shine Text: Something got you nervous-cited this week? It’s a hint to what drives you. Own this week by learning which of these 4 “purpose styles” is yours.
Why it's a fav: I was in the midst of leaving my last job to come work at Shine, and I was very nervous-cited! I was making a big change (nervous), but also accomplishing a goal that I had set for myself (’cited), and I felt so seen.
Christina, Community Intern
Shine Text: Roll out your neck...and breathe. 😌 Yup, it’s a new week—and when we see a clean slate, we’re more productive. Today, try the ‘fresh start effect.'
Why it's a fav: This one spoke to me because I 👏never👏 let👏 go 👏of 👏 stress👏! The "fresh start effect" helps me to try to think of Mondays as a clean slate, and gives me permission to drop the stress of the week past. There's also a phrase in the second article in this text: "Start your day with gentleness" that I think about every single morning. It inspired me to wake up a little earlier to just spend time sitting on my couch and scrolling through social media in the morning (I know, I know). It just helps me wake up and gives me that extra space to feel like I've had a little "me-time" before my day begins.
Sandy, Junior Software Engineer
Shine Text: 'I want to help, but I'm at my limit.' Showing up for others = noble, but can overload us. Read on for 3 ways to beat empathy burnout.
Why it's a fav: This text is the perfect reminder that we can care about people and things we love by trying to understand them without carrying on their burden. I also love the mini breathing exercise described in the article, How to Protect Yourself from ‘Empathy Burnout’. I use it as a gut-check whenever I want to calm my emotions from external triggers around me.
Haley, Content Strategist
Shine Text: Pulling a ‘That’s So Raven’ + predicting stress today? 🔮 Truth: If we *anticipate* stress, it manifests. Try the 10-10-10 rule instead.
Why it's a fav: One of my greatest skills: Waking up and imagining 100 ways the day can go wrong before I even put my feet on the ground. But this text reminded me that imagining stress is actually setting myself up for stress. And the 10-10-10 rule—Will this thing matter in 10 min? 10 months? 10 years?—is seriously a game changer.
Christina, Operations
Shine Text: Trust yourself to handle *anything* this week? You can. Promise. To crush any doubts, read on for more on 'self-trust.'
Why it's a fav: I’m the first person to call out my weaknesses & shortcomings. This was a POWERFUL reminder that everything I need & have is within me. As long as I trust myself, I can accomplish anything.
Shine Text: 'Andddd there goes my chill....' 👋 Yup, your peace may get a little rocked today. Reclaim it with a hack called ‘metta.’ Read on to learn how:
Why it's a fav: I’m an organizer & planner, which means there are many days where I’m reshuffling my priorities and feeling frazzled. This was such a helpful reminder to take a breath.
Danielle, Community
Shine Text: Big day. Why? You decide your filter for the week. 📸 Today, go for opportunity (what's possible?) over scarcity (what's not?).
Why it's a fav: I love this Shine Text because it reminds me to take a step back from my daily grind and reflect on what good things have happened in my life, and what good things WILL (not might) happen.
Ebony, Editorial Intern
Shine Text: How many Mondays start with 'not enough' (sleep, time, etc)? Try 'abundance' today. Give yourself credit from the start.
Why it's a fav: I’m guilty of never giving myself credit for the small things. I’m so quick to focus on everything that went wrong that I forget that there are also things that went right. That’s why I love this text, it constantly reminds me to never forget about the small victories I have daily.
Shine Text: Perfect? It isn't the norm. We're all living messy lives—and we can thrive when we show our real. Today, release the pageantry of perfection.✨
Why it's a fav: For a long time I thought I needed to be perfect to succeed and to get people to notice me. But, my perfection was causing severe stress and anxiety and I was starting to lose sight of the things that make me, well me. So when I read this text, it made me feel better about not being perfect.
Katie, Director of Marketing:
Shine Text: 'I'm a hot mess' is a phrase we throw at ourselves with shade—but you can be messy and still progressing. See the magic in your mess today.
Why it's a fav: As a person who is really hard on themselves, I know the importance of giving myself permission to be messy, to not get things right. I love getting these reminders from Shine and knowing I'm not alone in my struggles and that the struggles themselves are beautiful opportunities, too.
Shine Text: *Expects perfection on first try* *Finds 10 ways to avoid first try* 😬 Give yourself space by going into 'experiment mode' today.
Why it's a fav: This is one of my favorite tools (in life and to use with my coaching clients). It's amazing how much pressure you're able to let go of when you treat things like an experiment-and all of the things you can learn.
Owen, Data Analyst Intern
Shine Text: Your attention is precious. But realistically? It can be tough to focus. Today, try 10 mins of *human airplane mode.*
Why it's a fav: This text is my favorite because when I first read it, I thought that 'Human Airplane Mode' referred to a horrifying human/airplane hybrid (✈️ + 👴🏻!). I clicked through to the article and instead picked up some excellent productivity advice.
Sophie, Audio Content Strategist:
Shine Text: *Tries to balance everything.* *Drops all the balls.* Feel familiar? 😉 Today, know: balance is a myth. Aim for feeling 'steady.'
Why it's a fav: It speaks to me because in my life I've always tried to "balance" but often fell short feeling like one thing TAKES OVER the rest of the things (family, friends, work, personal goals, passions). At the time, that text reminded me to just take it day by day and aim to feel "steady" without worrying whether each individual thing was tended to equally.
Read next: Here Are the Top 10 Shine Texts of 2017)
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