When Luxury Became Labour

I am reading a lot of luxury round ups atm which seems to revolve around beauty, travel and wellness (thats my algorithm anyway).

But I feel like for me luxury is more about a feeling of mental autonomy more than anything else. Physical autonomy goes with the territory of course - but mental freedom is my goal. but there’s one point where my mental locus of control goes out the window.

For a few weeks at the end of the year, a familiar anxiety creeps in, not about money, or work, or even success, but about my personal brand. About content. About whether I’ve shared enough, said enough, proved enough. And whenever that feeling shows up, I recognise it for what it is: a quiet reminder that I’m not as in control of my life as I like to think. That my life isn’t truly luxurious. Because when your sense of stability is tethered to output, to documentation, to being seen, your nervous system starts outsourcing safety to the internet. The anxiety isn’t really about Instagram or newsletters. It’s about realising how easily pleasure, privacy, and agency slip out of your hands when your life only feels valid once it’s been witnessed.

So here is list of a few things that are true for me and a few things that are totally aspirational to me that are all annoyingly tied to being an online media personality.

Here’s what I think of as true luxury…