The Rise of Self-Optimisation: When Wellness Becomes a Workout

By: Belle Hartles | June 26, 2025

The Rise of Self-Optimisation Culture

Wellness is meant to feel... well, good. But somewhere between the 4am wakeups (excluding those who have to), cold plunges, carnivore diets and omnipresent biohacking podcasts, it feels like we lost the plot a bit.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a bit of self-care (and have definitely tried a few of the things I’m about to mention, I am a wellness girly after all ✨. But lately I’ve been wondering - is all this optimising actually helping? Or is it just adding more pressure to be better all the time? (Not to mention the money and time it often takes to achieve 'optimal health')

I want to chat about the rise of extreme wellness trends, what actually supports wellbeing, and why I believe feeling good doesn’t need to be so hard.

When being healthy becomes a hustle

Self-optimisation culture is a cocktail of productivity, health, and performance pressure. It’s about becoming the "best version" of yourself - faster, stronger, smarter, more focused, organised and disciplined.

There’s nothing wrong with self-improvement; growth is an incredibly important part of life. But when you start to feel like you’re failing because you didn't cold plunge, journal, and smash out 10 networking emails before 7am, it might be time to reassess what 'wellness' means.

Some of the practices flooding TikTok and Instagram reels right now include:

Ice baths and cryo facials on waking
Complete facial tape-downs before bed
Raw food only diets
Wearing red light masks during Zoom calls (this one I could get on board with 😂)
Taking 20+ supplements daily
Two hour-long morning routines dubbed "non-negotiables"

Trying the odd wellness trend isn’t the issue. But taken together, it’s starting to feel like self-optimisation has become a full-time gig.
Even if you’re not buying into every fad (and the chances are you're not), the cultural pressure to constantly be consistently “better” is real. And the truth is, not everyone has the time, money, or mental energy to turn their life into a biohacking experiment.

Why it goes viral

We’re drawn to extreme behaviours. They make for great content, and great content gets clicks. The wellness influencer who wakes at 3.30am and bathes in Himalayan salt while taking ice-cold plunges is far more clickable than the one who eats three balanced meals and gets 8 hours of sleep.

The problem is that viral extremes can skew our perception of what health truly looks like.

A more grounded approach

At Goju, we love a good health hack - it’s kind of what we do. But we also believe wellness shouldn’t be complicated, inaccessible, or feel like a performance.
If you’re into 3.30am wake-ups and ice baths before breakfast, go for it. But if all you want is to feel good and get on with your day? That’s more than enough.

Here’s our take on everyday wellness that actually works:

Move your body regularly
Get good sleep
Drink more water
Eat whole foods
Take small, consistent steps toward feeling better
Support your body with 100% naturally beneficial products like Goju’s wellness shots 😉

The takeaway

Self-optimisation doesn’t have to be extreme. You don’t need to overhaul your entire life or log every quantifiable habit to be "doing wellness right". Often, the best results come from the basics - the small things done consistently, not perfectly.

Because if the pursuit of wellness is making you anxious, tired, or broke, it’s probably time to simplify.