<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[The Standard]]></title><description><![CDATA[An editorial platform exploring how modern people decide what a successful life looks like.]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Sun, 27 Sep 2026 14:11:59 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.thestandardmethod.co/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[How Do You Know Whose Advice to Listen To?]]></title><description><![CDATA[The people who love us usually mean well. That doesn’t mean every fear, warning or opinion deserves the same weight. There’s something very interesting that happens when you make a decision other people wouldn’t make. Suddenly everybody has questions. Have you thought about this? What about that? Aren’t you worried? What if it doesn’t work? What about the children? What about your family? What about your job? What about the house? What about the thing you’ve already thought about seventeen...]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/post/whose-advice-to-listen-to</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6ab3748312e960fbcab9c251</guid><pubDate>Wed, 23 Sep 2026 13:06:17 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2e73a_0163eda0cdfd42a99636d25cf7ad08ec~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Elise Brattoni</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why Do I Feel Like I Always Need to Be Doing Something?]]></title><description><![CDATA[We have more tools than ever to save time, make life easier and keep us entertained. So why does an empty moment now feel like something we need to fill? There’s something slightly strange about how difficult it’s become to do absolutely nothing. Not rest in a productive way. Not recover. Not meditate. Not take a deliberate break so we can return to work feeling refreshed. Just... nothing. Sit somewhere. Look around. Wait. Let five minutes pass without trying to improve them. That sounds...]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/post/always-need-to-be-doing-something</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6aa931c106c1b50287bb4696</guid><pubDate>Tue, 15 Sep 2026 12:48:57 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2e73a_130dd55ff55f4cc3baec5caaa3b3e6ab~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Elise Brattoni</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why Does Being Wrong Feel So Personal?]]></title><description><![CDATA[We all say mistakes are part of learning. So why can discovering we’ve made one feel so much like a personal attack? There’s a very specific moment in an argument when you realise the other person is right. It’s awful. Nothing terrible has happened. Nobody’s died. You’ve just discovered that the argument you’ve been making with increasing confidence and passion for the last fifteen minutes has one fairly inconvenient problem: You’re wrong. And suddenly, despite spending the first half of the...]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/post/being-wrong-feels-personal</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a9f93735bf065f25f4dddf2</guid><pubDate>Wed, 09 Sep 2026 04:18:31 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2e73a_3ed0754842c24c80acb466394cd1b214~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Elise Brattoni</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[We All Say We Want Freedom]]></title><description><![CDATA[Freedom is one of those words everybody understands until somebody asks them to define it.]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/post/want-freedom</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a963de20125627071d07c89</guid><pubDate>Mon, 31 Aug 2026 14:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2e73a_03128fbfc971495ba5f76fb9cd67fb0e~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Elise Brattoni</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Who Are You When Nobody Is Watching?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Somewhere along the way, we stopped simply having experiences to enjoy them and started becoming aware of how those experiences might look from the outside. There are some things we do purely because we enjoy them. Or at least, we think we do. Then there are the things we do because we like what they say about us. And if we’re being really honest, sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference. Would you still want the holiday if nobody knew you went? Would you still buy the bag if nobody...]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/post/who-are-you-when-nobody-is-watching</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a8d7c1ff1e4e9e4f710dc4a</guid><pubDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2026 12:23:46 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2e73a_ca252084078f4a359dd001006dc9916e~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Elise Brattoni</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[When Did Growth Become the Default?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Entrepreneurship promises freedom, autonomy and the chance to build something on our own terms. So why does success so often end up meaning building something bigger than the life we wanted it to support? There is a question successful business owners are eventually expected to answer. What’s next? Not because anything is wrong. Quite the opposite. The business might be profitable. Customers are happy. The owner earns well. The work is good. Life works... And yet somehow, staying exactly that...]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/post/business-growth</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a83ce540fc3a56d442d93e3</guid><pubDate>Tue, 18 Aug 2026 11:16:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2e73a_2d19cb1e8c8b4966b58bfac68b63fa5c~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Elise Brattoni</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Does a Good Life Need to Look Impressive?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Somewhere between aspiration and performance, we may have confused an extraordinary life with one that simply looks extraordinary. There is a particular kind of confidence required to choose a life that does not immediately explain itself to other people. A good life can be meaningful without being particularly impressive. A life that is meaningful without being particularly impressive. Beautiful without being highly curated. Ambitious without being relentlessly busy. Interesting without...]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/post/does-a-good-life-need-to-look-impressive</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a7ad8ab03ca10d8b3fb8496</guid><pubDate>Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:34:11 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2e73a_2d6ee3718976488db918d068b645f2b5~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Elise Brattoni</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Self-Optimisation: When Did Being Human Become A Full-Time Job?]]></title><description><![CDATA[We have become remarkably good at self-optimisation. But somewhere between the sleep scores, supplements and perfectly optimised morning routines, did we accidentally turn being alive into another thing to manage? There was a time when making a cup of coffee simply meant making a cup of coffee. Somewhere along the way, it quietly became an opportunity to optimise our metabolism, regulate cortisol, reduce inflammation, improve cognitive performance, support gut health and extend our lifespan....]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/post/self-optimisation</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a7141e12155f73d88055f8e</guid><pubDate>Tue, 04 Aug 2026 11:18:52 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2e73a_2fc8ca73ddf8429f84c819ff16c3605c~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Elise Brattoni</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What Are We Saving Our Life For?]]></title><description><![CDATA[We've become remarkably good at preparing for life, but have we forgotten how to recognise it while it's happening? There is a quiet assumption woven through modern life that rarely gets unpacked. That today's sacrifices will eventually become tomorrow's freedom. So we save. We prepare. We optimise. We delay. We tell ourselves we'll travel once work settles down. We'll spend more time with our children when they're a little older. We'll prioritise our health after this busy season. We'll rest...]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/post/living-for-the-future</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a66d51c388acffd1e3978f0</guid><pubDate>Tue, 28 Jul 2026 09:36:47 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2e73a_a9b30d4bf0be4351bdd6e3e6dd7578e0~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Elise Brattoni</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why Success Never Feels Like Enough: What If Success Isn't What You're Looking For?]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Psychology Behind Why Success Never Feels Like Enough Success has become one of the few words in modern life that almost nobody unpacks. Parents encourage it. Schools reward it. Employers measure it. Social media performs it. Politicians promise it. Self-help books optimise it. It is treated less like an aspiration than a universal good, as though its meaning were so obvious it no longer required dissecting. Yet ask ten people what success actually looks like, and it quickly becomes clear...]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/post/why-success-never-feels-like-enough</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a5fce7ac80c049d31b7297b</guid><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 03:04:11 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2e73a_6f2b27c9272b4166b5f434dff6225ad7~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Elise Brattoni</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What Are You REALLY Buying?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Why modern life sells feelings disguised as things. Very rarely do you find yourself buying the moisturiser because you desperately need another bottle of moisturiser. You buy what it quietly promises. A bit more confidence. A little reassurance, perhaps. Maybe the hope that this will finally be the serum that makes the last ten years of wrinkles and sleep deprivation brought on by motherhood melt away over the next month. You don't book the holiday because you simply want the holiday. You...]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/post/what-are-you-really-buying</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a55d69b68b728cc93feab13</guid><pubDate>Tue, 14 Jul 2026 12:14:44 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2e73a_3b66e1e958274c99a9fa444a512029c4~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Elise Brattoni</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why Modern Women Feel Chronically Behind]]></title><description><![CDATA[The finish line keeps moving, and nobody seems to notice. You know the feeling. You're paying the bills. The kids are healthy. You've somehow remembered that tomorrow is Book Week despite only discovering it yesterday afternoon. You're married- happily, for the most part, (although if he leaves one more empty shampoo bottle in the shower, all bets are off.) You have people who love you. A home. Maybe you own it. Maybe you're renting, but either way it feels like yours. You can afford dinner...]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/post/why-modern-women-feel-chronically-behind</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a4cd2da3bb9cc62515a7735</guid><pubDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2026 11:59:01 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2e73a_f36fd9940a1249eeb5e78d1b4416a6a1~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_901,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Elise Brattoni</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Who Decided This Was Success?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Who Decided This Was Success? explores how modern people inherit, construct and question their definition of success, and the invisible standards shaping the lives we think we chose.]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/post/who-decided-this-was-success</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a436ff851416e35e78551ab</guid><category><![CDATA[Redefining Success]]></category><category><![CDATA[Modern Success]]></category><category><![CDATA[Cultural Conditioning]]></category><category><![CDATA[inherited beliefs]]></category><category><![CDATA[Personal Values & Choices]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 30 Jun 2026 11:44:04 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2e73a_8da81274efea4696944b45166f56fddc~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Elise Brattoni</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Psychology Of Becoming Her]]></title><description><![CDATA[The woman we're all trying to become. There is a woman many of us carry around in our heads. She wakes up early. She's organised. She's disciplined. Her house is beautiful. Her relationship is healthy. Her skin glows. Her wardrobe is effortless. Her finances are under control. She somehow drinks enough water. And she always remembers to defrost the chicken. She's calm without being lazy. Successful without being stressed. Beautiful without appearing to try. Present with her children....]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/post/the-psychology-of-becoming-her</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a39f7b2106e96afab60020c</guid><pubDate>Tue, 23 Jun 2026 12:55:04 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2e73a_2a8fbf4e14f64e31bde5cca4b2384555~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Elise Brattoni</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[You're Not Jealous. You're Paying Attention.]]></title><description><![CDATA[Sometimes the feeling we call jealousy is actually information. It's that time of year again! The time when those of us in the Southern Hemisphere find ourselves drowning in social media feeds filled with Santorini sunshine, Amalfi coastlines, Riviera chic and Spanish sangria. There is always at least one person you follow doing a European summer. Possibly several. And whether they're sipping rosé overlooking Positano, wandering through cobblestone streets in linen or somehow managing to look...]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/post/you-re-not-jealous-you-re-paying-attention</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2fea5235b19d1922ee7d54</guid><pubDate>Tue, 16 Jun 2026 13:40:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2e73a_f85bd931ed2d4c61bcbb58f9bda03deb~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Elise Brattoni</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[When Aspirational Content Stops Inspiring And Starts Controlling ]]></title><description><![CDATA[At some point, inspiration stopped helping us build a life and started telling us how to live one. You open Instagram to check one message... Twenty minutes later you've somehow learned that your skincare routine has outdated faster than your phone, your wardrobe needs refining because it screams "Millennial attempting Gen Z", your kitchen could be more aesthetic because the colour scheme isn't trending anymore, your supplements are wrong because they haven't been fermented, activated,...]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/post/when-aspirational-content-stops-inspiring-and-starts-controlling</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a275323750b8b39abbed801</guid><pubDate>Tue, 09 Jun 2026 07:12:13 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2e73a_9163aa55d67447c49befc0907a1ac5c7~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Elise Brattoni</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Missing Feeling No Purchase Can Deliver]]></title><description><![CDATA[Why achievement, beauty, wealth, status, optimisation and aspiration so often fail to deliver the feeling we expected. A strange thing happens when you finally get the thing you've wanted for years. The promotion. The house. The renovation. The body. The holiday. The wardrobe. The car. For a moment, it feels exactly as you imagined it would. You stand in the finished kitchen. You drive the car. You unpack the suitcase. You hang the new clothes in the wardrobe. And for a few days, maybe even a...]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/post/the-missing-feeling-no-purchase-can-deliver</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a1e185ed87dcf57d5481944</guid><pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2026 23:00:15 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2e73a_8316db4fea49426b9df1eccacc8efcb5~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Elise Brattoni</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Emotional Spending - You’re Not Buying the Thing, You’re Buying the Feeling.]]></title><description><![CDATA[Modern consumption has quietly become emotional regulation in expensive packaging. The strange thing about modern aspiration is that everyone pretends not to notice it while simultaneously participating in it. The women at Pilates pretending they “just threw this on” while wearing an outfit that costs more than someone’s electricity bill. The subtle glance toward the handbag sitting on the chair. The quick visual scan of jewellery, skin, watch, shoes, car. The activewear hierarchy at Saturday...]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/post/you-re-not-buying-the-thing-you-re-buying-the-feeling</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a151c49b3f40ff4eeeac2d2</guid><pubDate>Wed, 27 May 2026 02:37:28 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2e73a_318771e0f85542a480df85bdbe17bbca~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Elise Brattoni</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why Everything Looks Better but Nothing Feels Better]]></title><description><![CDATA[You improved the wardrobe. Refined the routines. Elevated the home. So why does life still feel slightly unsatisfying underneath it all? There’s a strange kind of dissatisfaction that’s difficult to explain because, technically... nothing is wrong. In many ways, life probably looks better than it used to. The home feels calmer. The wardrobe is more refined. You’ve become more intentional with what you buy, what you eat, how you spend your mornings. Maybe your skin improved. Your habits...]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/post/why-everything-looks-better-but-nothing-feels-better</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a05455568a3e7adcb16d0f4</guid><pubDate>Thu, 14 May 2026 04:39:23 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2e73a_800b7a4ffe1a4cf5843109a6aa23c9d2~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Elise Brattoni</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why You Keep Changing Your Mind About What You Want]]></title><description><![CDATA[You were happy with your choices - until constant exposure to better routines, better aesthetics and better ways of living made everything feel uncertain again. There was a point where you felt certain. Certain about the style of home you wanted. The wardrobe you were building. The routine you were trying to stick to. Even the kind of life you were working toward. You’d made decisions that felt right for you. And then, slowly, they started to unravel. Not because anything was necessarily...]]></description><link>https://www.thestandardmethod.co/post/why-you-keep-changing-your-mind-about-what-you-want</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69fbd07c4f7ebdc9f6a3f4fa</guid><pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2026 04:11:37 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2e73a_92539f76e6d04dbb82f4511761d32f2a~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Elise Brattoni</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>