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“I see a bunch of Americans drinking hot water with lemon and honey, eating congee, drinking hot pot, drinking more soup, eating Chinese vegetables,” one Chinese creator, Emma Peng, recently shared in a TikTok, currently with over 3 million views. “I just want to say that my culture can be your culture. Youre doing really good hydrating yourself. Im proud of you.” The becoming Chinese trend is currently everywhere on the app, and while the name might give pause, its mostly about adopting lifestyle habits rooted in traditional Chinese medicine. In the past month or so, Chinese creators have gone viral for espousing the benefits of common Chinese cultural practices,like drinking hot water, wearing house slippers, and trading cold salads and yogurt for hot congee and boiled apples during the colder months. The comment section, meanwhile, is full of Americans diligently taking notes. Another creator at the forefront of the trend is Chinese American TikToker Sherry Xiiruii. In one viral clip, with 1.4 million views, she announces: Tomorrow, youre turning Chinese. I know it sounds intimidating, but theres no point fighting it now you are the chosen one. Usually, when a trend involves adopting elements from, or becoming, another culture, it is met with cries of cultural appropriation. Some users have understandably expressed mixed feelings about the cultural practices they were once made fun of for now being repackaged and sold as a viral trend. However, in this case the response from Chinese creators is is overwhelmingly positive. Its perhaps unsurprising a trend rooted in self-improvement has gained traction in the first month of the New year, especially given many of the wellness tips and hacks that go viral online have existed for millennia in Ancient Eastern medicine. As one TikTok creator said: All I have to say is what took yall this long to catch on? Still, the appetite for Chinese culture is not limited to TikToks wellness algorithm. “You met me at a very chinese time in my life,” a viral X post from April 2025 reads, a nod to Fight Clubs iconic one-liner. Meanwhile, posts about chinesemaxxingwhich amounts to smoking cigarettes crouched low to the ground and donning toggle jacketsstarted cropping up online throughout 2025. As producer Minh Tran wrote in a recent Substack post titled My Year of Rest and Chinesemaxxing: Part of the reason these videos dont feel like outright mockery is because theres some kernel of truth and desire in the cosplay. Though things have always been made in China, we are increasingly making ourselves in the image of the Chinese. Here, he notes the Labubu mania of 2025. The collectible plush toys, made by Chinese toymaker Pop Mart, were in many ways the standout trend of the year, tripling the companys profits and sparking a buying frenzy that spanned the globe. Or recall when for a brief momentit looked like the Chinese social media platform Rednote would replace TikTok, as users migrated from the platform and bid goodbye to their personal Chinese spy ahead of the potential ban (that never came) over national security concerns. Across tech and other industries, China is the U.S.s closest competitor and, in many ways, its greatest challenger. At a time where America is more divided than ever, and the country’s politics a source of national embarrassment for many, people are looking beyond the countrys borders for alternative ways of living. Given the current geopolitical context, the becoming Chinese trend is perhaps about more than sipping hot tea and house slippers. As Tran writes: The threat of the Chinese Century looms over us all.
Category:
E-Commerce
Silicon Valley fintech giant Bilt announced an overhaul of its credit cards on Wednesday, which notably will include an introductory rate on all card users interest rates at 10% for one year. The promotion comes at a time of heightened political rhetoric around the cost of credit cards, with President Donald Trump announcing last week that he also is seeking a one-year cap on credit card interest rates of 10%. New York-based Bilt, which originally built its business model around earning rewards on rent and other routine purchases, has been branching out into other financial products as it has grown. The Silicon Valley-backed startup was valued last year at $10.75 billion and has been expanding its partnerships with landlords, and is now starting to build in rewards programs for other routine transactions, like a customers mortgage payment. The company says roughly 1 in 4 landlords now accept Bilt. In an interview, Bilt CEO Ankur Jain said Bilt was deciding to cap its interest rates on credit cards for one year to meet the bipartisan call for a solution on the issues of affordability that he says many of his customers are facing. Candidly, Jain also said it could be a chance to lure in new customers. If [a credit card rate cap] is going to happen, wed rather be at the forefront, Jain said. The 10% rate applies as an introductory annual percentage rate (APR) on new eligible purchases for the first 12 months for cardholders approved for one of Bilts three new cards. After that, purchases, balance transfers, and cash advances carry APRs that can run well above 20%, similar to other rewards cards. The credit card industry has long pushed back against any caps on interest rates on its products, with the average credit card interest rate hovering around 21%. They have faced their most serious challenge yet with Trump, who has embraced the populist idea of capping credit card interest rates for one year. Researchers at Vanderbilt University estimated that Trump’s proposal would cost the credit card industry $100 billion. Left-leaning politicians like Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have long embraced capping credit card rates. Bilt is effectively offering its new and existing customers a promotional ratenot unlike other promotions the credit card industry does to attract new customers, like a zero percent APR or promotions for customers who transfer balances. But the announcement by Bilt, being small relative to the giants JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, and American Express, may have political ramifications. Politicians can now point to Bilt voluntarily capping interest rates for all its customers and ask why its larger competitors are unable or unwilling to embrace the same move. The new credit cards from Bilt follow the good, better, best model that other credit card companies have adopted. The center of the program is Bilt Cash, which is a points program that converts into cash back inside the Bilt ecosystem. These are often merchants that have signed up with Bilt to help attract customers in the local area. Bilt is also keeping its transfer partners with several airlines and hotels through its Bilt Rewards points program. At the top end of Bilts new credit card program is the Bilt Palladium Card, with a $495 annual fee, which will give $400 annual credits toward hotel stays as well as $200 in Bilt Cash. The middle-tier card will be the Bilt Obsidian Card, which focuses more of its rewards accumulation on dining out and grocery purchases and carries a $95 annual fee. The basic card will be called the Bilt Blue Card, which has no annual fee, but will also offer cash back and points accumulation, but at lower multiples compared to the annual fee cards. Bilt is trying to move beyond its credit card for renters identity and focus more on being a financial liaison between local merchants, landlords, and renters in the area. Bilt previously partnered with Wells Fargo on its credit card program, but that partnership is coming to an end in February in what appears to have been an acrimonious divorce. Wells Fargo apparently lost $10 million a month on the Bilt credit card, The Wall Street Journal previously reported, and chose to end its partnership several years before it was supposed to expire in 2029. The new card is being issued in a partnership with the credit card operations company Cardless, while the bank Column N.A. will be the issuing bank. By Ken Sweet, AP business writer
Category:
E-Commerce
The most dangerous people in a company are stressed leaders. I say that with full self-awareness. Ive worked for a few and came uncomfortably close to becoming one myself. Ive always had an impulsive temperament. On good days, it made me decisive. On bad days, reactive. Add long hours and the pressure of scaling a startup, and my emotional state began to spill onto the team. Focusing on mental health, rest, and mindfulness fundamentally changed how I build my company and how I see my role today. Im still a CEO, but Ive also become something elsethe chief energy officer. What follows is everything I wish Id known earlier about leading with emotional regulation and grounded energy. WHY EVERY CEO MUST ALSO BE A CHIEF ENERGY OFFICER We must stop seeing ourselves only through an operational lens. Gantt charts and product roadmaps matter, but not if you walk into a room as an emotional thunderstorm. Once you understand that, you start to see the full scope of the CEO role, including taking responsibility for the emotional climate of our workplace. The Workforce Institute at UKG found that 69% of employees feel their manager impacts their mental health as much as their spouses. Stress spreads in a domino effect, and the leader is the domino that knocks all the others over. Domino 1: Stressed leader. Research in organizational psychology shows that under stress, leaders are rated as less inspiring, less supportive, and less able to provide intellectual stimulation. Domino 2: Psychological safety. Teams sense tension and stop bringing ideas, feedback, or early warnings. They dont want to add to your load or trigger a reaction. Domino 3: Innovation and creativity. Managing your emotional state drains the resources your team needs to experiment. Domino 4: Proactivity. When employees dont feel safe, they avoid ownership and only wait for direction. HOW I LEARNED TO LEAD WITHOUT BRINGING STRESS WITH ME Culture is shaped by what leaders practice, not what they preach. Small, daily actions help you stay regulated and create a team environment that feels safe and energized. These habits made the biggest difference for me, specifically the Mind Heart Body method. I rely on this three-pillar system, which I call the religion of awakening, to reset before and after stressful moments. 1. Mind Notice the tension I pause and look for micro-signals of stress: a tight jaw, shallow breathing, a sudden urge to move faster without any real reason. 2. Heart Understand the emotion behind it I ask: What am I actually feelingirritation, fear, fatigue? What is this reaction trying to tell me? Is this about the situation or about me? 3. Body Move to reset your state Our nervous systems respond to movement faster than they respond to logic. A 10-minute walk or a few stretches can pull me out of fight-or-flight mode. DEVELOP MICRO-HABITS TO RESET YOUR ENERGY Micro-habits are simple, require no major cultural shifts, and have an almost immediate impact. These three have been a game-changer for me. 1. Set aside time to pause throughout the day Start meetings with one minute of breathing or quiet reflection. It helps everyone disconnect from whatever they were doing before and step into the conversation with a clear mind. Take regular two-minute reset pauses to notice your breath or posture. This calms your nervous system and prevents stress from building throughout the day. Pick one time block a day to step back from multitasking. Constant context switching keeps you in a low-level state of stress. Close your laptop for 30 seconds between tasks to reset your focus. 2. Set an energy baseline for the week Every Monday, I map out my energy like my schedule. This helps me spot red flags before they become stress triggers and make space for recovery. Whats likely to drain me this week? Which meetings require my best energy, and which ones can be lighter? Where do I need to build in recovery time? 3. Model healthy urgency Every Monday I label tasks by priority: what needs attention today, what must happen this week, and optional things that can easily roll into next week. This simple system forces me to prioritize intentionally instead of throwing everything into one important bucket. For the team, it removes unnecessary pressure and gives them the mental space to concentrate on what actually matters. WHAT A PEOPLE- AND ENERGY-FIRST WORKPLACE CAN LOOK LIKE When something helps me show up better, I bring it into the organization so everyone can benefit. As a CEO, I try to model the energy I want my team to feel. I lead Pilates sessions, share mindfulness tools and meditation techniques, and talk openly about moments when I need to reset. But to make well-being work at scale, weve also built structure around it. We rely on the same methods that underpin our BetterMe Business solution, a platform that supports practical wellness habits in the workplace, to make things like emotional training, mindful breaks, and movement part of our day-to-day routines. Heres how that looks for our team: Office spaces for movement, like walking paths for meetings Training access, with in-office and online options Running clubs, tennis meetups, and outdoor activities instead of bar events for team-building Regular check-ins that create space for feedback and honest dialogue Access to a corporate wellness platform that provides stress management tools I believe that the future of work isnt about squeezing more out of people. Its about taking care of the energy that keeps them going. Victoria Repa is the CEO and founder of BetterMe.
Category:
E-Commerce
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