The antidote to anxiety is here

Find playful freedom, simple joy, and childlike wonder at The 2nd Annual Camp AweGust

If you weren’t here last summer, let’s catch you up real fast:

Camp AweGust is a 4 week, choose-your-own-adventure, virtual summer camp designed to combat the Sunday Scaries of Summer (otherwise known as Blah-Gust…I mean, August). We tackle the seasonal burnout and anxious boredom of these dog days with imagination, creativity, and the kind of simple joys that make us feel like a kid again. The best part is– you don’t have to go anywhere. We’ll find magic and delight and freedom exactly where we are.

It’s completely free. All are welcome. And you can invite anyone you want. In fact, it’s highly encouraged. All you need to do is bop these buttons to Subscribe and Share.

Keep reading for more about this year’s Camp. You can also read about the origins of Camp AweGust here and you can time travel to past Camp AweGusts here.

*If you love Outsourced Optimism, but don’t want to receive Camp AweGust emails, follow these instructions to customize your settings.

Pretty much everyone I know who has seen Inside Out 2, has said the same thing. First, they say they loved it. And then they say: That’s me.

Anxiety, they mean.

Each one quickly recounts the drama that played out on screen with the introduction of the newest character, but also plays out daily in the control panels of their own mind– the frantic future calculating, the disproportionate disaster mitigating, the obsessive every-possible-scenario projecting. There is a sense of disbelief that a team of strangers at Pixar managed to capture their internal frenzy so specifically, so exactly. And what that must mean about this distracting, often alienating, sometimes paralyzing brain swirl that they’ve navigated privately for so long….it’s not just them.

It turns out no matter how calm, cool, and collected we present on the outside, most of us are walking around like Cathy cartoons on the inside.

Right now, especially, it feels like the whole world is vibrating– with fear and panic and rage and worry. If the human rumble turned to rolling earthquakes, I wouldn’t be surprised.

For me, this month always brings with it extra anxiety (that is, of course, why we are here). Camp AweGust was born to combat the burnout, the busyness, and the burdens of being a grown up with a month of nostalgic activities, imaginative challenges, and a general sense of lightness and playfulness that gives our brains a much needed break and helps us find our way back to ourselves.

But this year feels different, doesn’t it? It feels more…something. Maybe more everything.

It feels like we can’t take our eye off the ball. Like now’s not the time for a silly camp, for light-hearted games and whimsy. There’s too much going on. Serious stuff. We don’t have time to pretend to gather around a campfire or take casual strolls around the neighborhood.

And to that I would say: I get it. I really do.

And also.

Even though I know, with every fiber of my being, that that feels true, I don’t think that it is true. Yes, technically Camp is all fun and games, but the medicine couldn’t be more real. I believe that in my bones. There’s also very real and very serious research that shows play reduces stress, creates energy, and can actually promote mental flexibility which helps us to expect and adapt more successfully and easily to the unexpected. If we can build trust with ourselves to handle whatever happens when it happens, if we know ourselves to be capable of this, maybe our anxiety doesn’t have to work so hard to preemptively prepare us.

There was a time when I might have said the antidote to anxiety is joy or one of joy’s friendly cousins, like gratitude or hope or faith. My general approach being how to get anxiety to go away by replacing it with something more tolerable, if not likable. It didn’t occur to me that maybe I was the one who needed to relocate.

Even though it feels like a present reality, anxiety and all it’s ideas actually live in the future. It’s exhaustive imagination is dedicated to protecting us from absolutely anything that might possibly happen. Bless. But if I spend all my time where things could happen, I’m missing out on everything that is happening. Which is to say, I’m missing out on my real life.

“I can tell my mind has been spending too much time in the future lately, because I haven’t been breathing very well. Inhales tight, exhales short. The future, I think, is a lot like space. It’s just on the other side of our (atmosp)here, but the air is thin and we aren’t meant to live there. If we don’t have something to pull us back, we could float out in that dark unknown forever, watching the world pass by from an impassable distance, observer instead of participant.”

-excerpt from Remember Who The Belly Flop You Are

We belong in the present. Pulling ourselves back to where we are, planting our attention, creates space for everything to exist, but sometimes we need a little help. Play is like a tether. So is human connection. Using our hands. Moving our feet. Yes, anxiety might still show up there, fear usually hangs around, but there’s also curiosity and peace and surprise and excitement.

As

Caroline Cala Donofrio

recently wrote “Excitement is what we call it when anxiety dresses in hope. In the best of times, it motivates and unites us…The thing about excitement, which we cannot lose sight of, is that it is infectious and strengthens when shared.”

So let’s do this. Maybe we can’t check out for a full month. Probably we can’t run away forever like we don’t have a care in the world. But we can take pauses. We can carve out 5 minutes or 10 minutes, maybe even a few hours each week. We can use this space to connect with ourselves, our joy, our creativity. Because it matters. Because it will make a difference.

Let’s meet up at Camp and for just a little while, we can all be here, in the present, together.

I can’t wait!

Keep on a scrolling to visit the Adventure Desk where you’ll find all the Camp details and choose your Inside Out Summer Avatar.

Welcome Camper!

First things first, if you were here last year– welcome back! 👋🏻

This season of Camp will be a little simpler and more focused than last year. Fewer options means less decision overwhelm and more of us doing the same things together.

This is how it works:

registration

If you’re subscribed to Outsourced Optimism, you’re already signed up to receive the Weekly Camp Itinerary. If not, just bop this Subscribe button👇🏻

Want to invite some real life friends? The more the merrier! This Share button will loop them in to the Camp AweGust Universe.

1. expectation

Opening Day will be August 1st where we’ll kick things off with some light warm up fun and orientation.

Every Thursday after that, you’ll receive a Camp Itinerary with:

• A super fun creative activity or experiment designed to engage your curiosity and imagination. Could be a craft, could be an invention. No skill level required. You may need a few household supplies. You’ll definitely want to bring your inner child. We’ll keep our hands busy to keep our busy minds quiet.

• A weekly Wonder Walk– part noticing walk, part photo scavenger hunt. Each week, you’ll receive a prompt that will send you into the great outdoors where you’ll hunt for the ordinary and the extraordinary through an unexpected lens.

• A mad libs-style conversation starter to connect us with each other around an imaginary campfire or pancake breakfast. Only imaginary food fights, please.

• A closed door challenge- this is a short and sweet, super secret exercise just between you and you.

Camp AweGust is completely self-guided, so you choose what you want to do and when you want to do it. As you’re choosing, just remember– adventure doesn’t happen inside your comfort zone. If something feels a little risky, there’s probably some magic waiting there for you.

2. participation

Camp is designed to be fun at any participation level. But real talk, real quick? I know engaging on the internet is weird and vulnerable. If you’re like me, it’s very easy to slip into a passive role and tell yourself you’re getting what you want out of it. Maybe you are. But if you’re looking for human connection or even deeper connection with yourself, you’re going to have to show up. And, actually, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised when you do. I’ll be right there with you and, while I don’t know everyone here personally, I do know that this community is kind and supportive and welcoming. (see also ‘#4: Next Steps’ to give it a try)

• Each activity will include a Notes thread where we can share our creations and discoveries. Whether you capture it with your camera or with words, proudly post on our bulletin board to inspire each other.

• Throughout Camp, use the ‘❤️’ button like a high five 🙌🏻 to cheer each other on

3. prizes!

Anyone who completes 6 or more activities, walks, or conversations* over the course of the month will receive a special Adventure Pack in the mail filled with fun surprises and some of my favorite adventure supplies.

*A magic portal for submission (and address collection) will be provided at the end of Camp.

4. next steps

In thinking about Inside Out, I realized a lot of the characters capture our (my) many summer personas. Which one best describes you this summer? I’ll meet you down in the comments with mine…👇🏻

1. Does virtual mean we’ll meet on Zoom?

   Nope. Camp AweGust is completely self-guided and at your own pace, so there won’t be any scheduled or live events.

2. How much does Camp cost?

   Camp AweGust is completely free. You may choose to buy supplies, but all of that is completely optional and not required to have a full and fun experience.

3. Can I join after you’ve started?

   Yes! You can hop in anytime. The sooner you join, the more time you have for activities, but don’t let that stop you.

4. Do the weekly activities have to be completed within that week?

   Nope. You can go in any order you choose, at your own pace. All itineraries will be available in the archive.

5. Why are you doing this?

   I like to do things with (and create things for) other people. I used to own a shop and one of my favorite things was having a place to host my hare-brained ideas, so I could invite others to participate in them with me. I want Outsourced Optimism to become something more like that. I don’t know if that’s possible in a digital space, but I hope so. This is me, trying.

“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe set up a life you don't need to escape from.”

Seth Godin