LOVE YOURSELF (every day)
We’re all in the same boat, aren’t we? Working damn hard at our careers, trying to be our very best in our relationships and giving as much of ourselves to our families as possible. We have friends we adore and don’t see enough of, yoga classes that make us feel better – when we have time to go to them – and books we can’t wait to read piling up on our bedside tables. None of this is a burden exactly – I love my job, my kids and my girlfriends – but I find the day-to-day juggling of all these things is exhausting. And it’s not just the physical load, but the mental one, too. I’ve realised that since having my daughters and taking on more responsibility at work, I’ve become brilliant at multitasking – so even my commute is a chance to do admin – but this means I never have time to be reflective and just sit quietly in my own mind. It’s for this reason I visited Raas Devigarh in India for three days of solo soul-searching, on page 114, as part of our 2018 Spa Guide. Our theme this year is “happiness” – in fact, it’s an ethos that runs through the entire issue. It’s jam-packed with tips and tricks to find joy, from kick-starting your career on page 32, to fixing your finances (less fun but essential) on page 44, to baking something spirit-lifting on page 98, to updating your wardrobe with mood-boosting clothes on page 72.
Then there’s our bumper Self section from page 141.
Its focus: self-care in the real world, starting with a wise interview between Red contributing editor Brigid Moss and yoga guru Nadia Narain and her chef sister Katia Narain Phillips. In it, Nadia says, “Self-care is about learning what works for you, identifying the small changes you can make which will transform the way you feel.” For me, that means starting each day with sun-salutation stretches, then walking from the train station to our Soho offices in complete silence, giving myself a chance to think. I hope this issue inspires you to practise your own self-care, too, whatever that may be.