Do you have chronic decision fatigue?

Has this ever happened to you?

You get into work, log into your email, scheduling meetings, make thoughtful decisions about your projects, answer questions, schedule follow-up meetings...

Go to lunch, respond to emails from your kids school, respond to long-winded texts from your parents, schedule a doctor's appointment, then back to work to more meetings and emails...

And when you come home, someone has the nerve to ask "What's for dinner?"

You feel like yelling at them and saying "WTF??? You pick! Why do I always have to decide?" because it's exhausting to make yet another decision at the end of a long day?

Yeah... that's happened to us way more times than we want to admit.

If you're feeling short-tempered at the end of the day and annoyed at simple questions, you're likely suffering from decision fatigue. 

You're irritable with your loved ones. You're not eating healthy. You're scrolling social media before bed.

That doesn't make you feel good about yourself, but it's also really hard to change these habits because people rely on you to get shit done and you're pretty awesome at it!

What if we told you that it's possible to feel more in control and fulfilled in your life without decision fatigue. Here are some tools to shift your perspective...

The book Slow Productivity by Cal Newport not only gave me tips on how to say yes to things that light me up and no to things that drained me, it also gave me deeper understanding about why I kept slipping back into burnout mode.

This documentary came out in 2016 and 9 years later, it couldn't be more relevant.

This film highlights that we have been conditioned to chase the "American Dream" by wanting and needing more stuff to make us happy. But it's having the opposite effect.

Personally, I don't really want to live in a tiny house or live out of a suitcase but I have felt the freedom of letting go of stuff and intentionally not renting a storage unit.

From a decision fatigue perspective... less stuff = less decisions. 

If you want to feel more balanced and fulfilled over a long weekend... ming+ming retreat is what you need.

It's a mental, physical, and emotional reset so you feel rejuvinated.

Chef-prepared meals, restorative yoga, lounging by the pool, guidance from your spirit guides, and sitting in the hot tub gazing at the stars.

Minimal decision-making. Massive clarity-receiving.

Only a few rooms left! Book a private room or a bed in the communal room.

*Scholarships available (especially for current and former federal employees)

ming + ming retreat this october

you're invited to this transformative retreat...
yoga. meditation. reiki. sound bath. crystals. art. akashic records. coaching.
5 days. All-inclusive. Healing on all dimensions.
A few private rooms + communal room spots left!

*ming+ming members get 20% off
**Scholarships available (especially for current and former federal employees)
Reply to this email to get the coupon code.

You're invited to the ming+ming retreat

We know you're busy.
We know you have a ton of responsibilities.
We know you don't have enough time.

Here’s your solution - take a long weekend just for YOU in January 2025!

Let us take care of you... so you can be the best version of yourself and feel confident moving forward when you get back home. 

We'll see you in San Luis Obispo on January 16-20, 2025.

Experience complete nourishment of your mind, body and spirit for 5 blissful days on California’s central coast. 

No cooking or cleaning. Take a break from your never ending to-do list. Step away from the roles and responsibilities you manage for everyone else.

Enjoy fresh, healthy chef-prepared meals. We’ll even have nourishing snacks in between!

Enjoy daily guided movement and meditation classes that are designed to meet you where you’re at, not where others expect you to be. (Beginners are highly encouraged to attend!)

Invest in the freedom of down time to do exactly what YOU want to do without judgment like taking a nap, reading a book, soaking in the hot tub, going on a hike, or star gazing right before a restful night’s sleep.

And finally, you’ll learn the ming+ming 11-step method that will help you learn to connect with yourself on a deeper level. You will discover your own creative solutions and move forward with more ease and confidence in your decisions, no matter how busy life gets.

We guarantee that you will leave feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, but more importantly, you’ll leave feeling confident you have the right foundation that will lead to incredible transformations.

We got you. You got you.

Ming-Wai + Ming-Cee

PS…
Thinking of gifts for the Holiday Season? Help support a small business in Asheville!

When Ming-Cee was in Asheville a couple months ago, she literally wanted to get one of everything at Mangum Pottery. Our friends, Beth and Rob Mangum, are incredible potters and it’s our favorite shop in town.

Buy early holiday presents and help the Mangums get through this slow time as we rebuild the Asheville area.

Ming-Cee’s favorite - The Divine Feminine Mug

Do you love Ming-Cee’s mug? It’s not on their website because it was made by their daughter. Their daughter’s entire studio flooded but she’s safe. If you’re interested in buying one, reach out to me and I’ll ask them if she has any more.

Hi, I'm Ming-Wai and I stopped talking for 5 days

The most common response I got when I told friends and co-workers that I was going on a 5-day silent meditation retreat was: Whoa, that’s intense.

And this surprised me because many of these people have hobbies that I find way more intense than meditating - like daily cold plunges, marathon running, or week-long backpacking trips in the wild.

But I acknowledge that meditation can feel intense sometimes. And my experience at this 5-day silent retreat was transformative because of it.

So what is a silent retreat? The meditation style of my retreat is called Vipassana and is held in “noble silence.” This not only means no talking, but also requires no reading, no journaling, and no eye contact. The meditation teacher does an evening talk about meditation principles to focus on, she will do guided meditations occasionally, and they offer some yoga classes. But other than that, the rest of our days were spent in seated or walking silent meditation.

My first 2 days felt strange but I really enjoyed not having to cook, clean, answer questions, make decisions, etc. It felt like vacation! The hardest part was walking by someone and not making eye contact. I also noticed that I missed that connection with people and missed small talk. I would want to ask where they got that sticker on their water bottle or where they got that sweater. But I’m a rule follower so I kept my eyes down and stayed in silence.

By the end of the third day, I was ready to binge watch some Netflix. I remember after dinner that night, I went to my bunk (yes, the room reminded me of a nicer version of my 5th grade sleep away camp) and grabbed my flashlight and thought how nice it would be to turn on my phone and chill the rest of the evening. 

But then I heard the gong that signaled our evening silent sitting meditation and shuffled back to the meditation room to keep hanging out with myself and my breath… again.

The view outside the meditation room

By the fourth day, I was starting to get really emotional. We did a guided meditation focusing on people that loved us unconditionally and tears were streaming down my cheeks as I visualized and felt the love that I am surrounded with in my life. I spent the rest of the day exploring these feelings, recognizing how blessed I am, embracing my worthiness to have such love, and noticing my negative reel when I questioned these truths.

On the morning of the fifth day, I woke up and thought how nice it would be to come home to my kids and husband and the tears welled up in my eyes again! During our walking meditation that morning, I hiked up to a little clearing and was looking over the valley. I was thinking about my purpose in life, where I wanted to put my energy, and all the people who support and love me… and there was about 10-15 seconds where I got a taste of how it felt to be truly embodied. In that short moment, I felt like I didn’t NEED anything. I recognized that I had everything that I needed and that I have the ability to choose how I wanted to invest my energy and move forward in alignment with my values and purpose. It was a feeling of intense freedom! And of course, I started crying again.

Within 10 minutes, I recognized how fleeting that feeling of freedom was. I was back in my head, feeling annoyed with something my sister said 2 weeks ago, trying to focus on my breath, wondering what would be served for dinner, and all the usual distractions of the mind.

And that was the transformative realization of my 5-day silent meditation experience. I cherish that taste of freedom that I got. But I also appreciate all the discomfort that I experienced during this retreat too. The discomfort of sharing a room, sleeping in a bunk bed, getting bug bites, not being able to complain about it, feeling all my emotions but not being able to talk or journal about it, and knowing that the only way forward is going within myself. The goal of this retreat (and of life) isn’t always to live in peace, tranquility, and attain enlightenment. No, the goal is to have the courage to experience it ALL and just be.

If you are interested in doing a silent meditation retreat, check out my review of Mindful Shenandoah Valley.

P.S. BIG NEWS! We're planning our first ming+ming retreat near San Luis Obispo at Sagrada Wellness in January 2025. Stay tuned!