A better way to feel better.
As a multiracial millennial and self-made force for good, Morgan Lynzi is a rebel with a cause; bridging the gap between wellness, music, and culture. As a TV host, presenter of the Well Damn podcast, and advocate, you can find her hosting live conversations covering mental health and self-care regularly, but you’ll never find her doing it the same-old, same-old way. Turns out, doing things with a sense of fun, ease, and experimentation aren’t just her brand values, their mental health yardsticks for an inspired, connected life.
In a chaotic year like 2020, it goes without saying that life is increasingly stressful. And Lynzi is all too aware of what’s at stake for millennials, mental health-wise. Here, she shares her wisdom and strategies for surviving, thriving, and making a social impact — even when it feels like everything’s on fire.
You know, I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to be anything but a multihyphenate. I always joke that with DNA spanning nearly every continent, it’s in my body to wear many hats. It’s funny, I remember a middle school assignment where we had to write a letter to our future 18-year-old selves, predicting what we’d be up to and I had written, “You’re a doctor, magazine editor, model, actress…”, and I think that sums up my mindset. The concept of boxes and lanes just never really made it on my radar and I think, with what I’ve done and do now, I give myself permission to keep ignoring the norms to make, do, and explore what I want.
I’m really grateful that growing up I received a lot of beautiful affirmation from family, school, and friends around my expression that helped me realize that conversation and storytelling are my gifts. I think I’ve become more clear and potent in my purpose, the more I have allowed my inner child to take the reigns. Trusting that the desires and interests that have been with me since I could even think of what I wanted are important guideposts to the work, medium, and audience I’m meant to connect with.
Cooking and baking. They are my favorite form of therapy, meditation, and physical wellness all in one. I’ve recently started sharing some recipes on my IGTV as well which is another layer of trusting that if I love something and enjoy communicating about it or sharing my story around it, then it’s worth putting into the world. Expectation free.
I developed an anxiety disorder in college and since then have really put the work in to reclaim my headspace from the voice that demands I do and be more at any given moment. For me, it’s about self-compassion. When I am softer with myself, I am softer with the world, and in turn my expectations of who and what I should be (or be doing) become so much more expansive and joyful versus rigid, demanding and constricting.
One of the more challenging parts of working for yourself is looking after yourself. When you’re running the ship there's no one to tell you to take that lunch or dinner break, to close the laptop, or not overbook your calendar. For me, structured self-investment is key, because if I don’t affirm I am of value by giving myself what I need to feel my best, how in the world am I going to be in the world, asking that others affirm it in me?
I start the day with my dream journal, then hot water and lemon, meditation, a brief workout— 15 to 20 minutes to move energy —then a brief shower, and then I open my laptop and allow myself to check socials. Not looking at my phone for the first hour or so of the day is a gamechanger. If I need the extra intentionality, I’ll pull a tarot or oracle card to embody for the day.
I’m seeing the entertainment industry be completely humbled, and I think for the best. We’re all seeing for the first time in, who knows? Maybe ever? What we thought was important or needed in order to create, captivate, or connect to an audience is largely blown out of proportion and is ego-driven. The positive side of household names feeling dismayed without big budgets and a giant team is seeing the rise of BIPOC creatives like comedian Ziwe, who spent half a decade pushing for the now-popular show BAITED to get a chance—simply because she decided to pivot and host it on Instagram live.
As the saying goes the only thing that's certain is change, and with that comes growing pains, awkwardness, and the kind of raw unadulterated brilliance that this particular type of global vulnerability is a breeding ground for. We can’t pick and choose when we get the brilliance from ourselves or others, but we can bet that it will happen. But we have to be willing to take on all the bits leading up to it with as much compassion, enthusiasm, and curiosity as we would the moments where it feels like we’ve got it all “figured out.”
Ideally, a plane ticket to Jamaica or Britain ASAP. Food, connecting with new people and ideas, conversations with depth, and that particular expansiveness that comes with a new geography.
Keep up with Lynzi over on Instagram and tune in over at Well Damn Lifestyle.
