Hope you are having a wonderful week.
I am still recovering from being sick but I am a lot better.
And this week marks the final week of my hiatus.
I’m mentally preparing myself to return to the world in full force November 1st.
These days it feels like the world wants everyone to wear a million hats.
When I was in college, it seemed like people used to specialize in order to become
a lawyer, a politician, a PR expert, or an international historian.
I majored in politics with a concentration in international relations, and let me tell you:
if I wanted to be a lawyer or a politician, I would have decided to be one…
But by the end of college, I was clear that
I was just too sensitive for that kind of job.
I’m not a fighter, I’m a healer.
I wanted to make my own personal difference in the world one person at a time through the services I provide.
Then my writing became an avenue to help others, as well.
It took time for these to fit me but it felt right.
I’m good with these hats.
These days it’s like everyone is expected to wear every single hat.
It really can give me a lot of anxiety.
I feel pressure to wear a lot of hats, including some hats that don’t feel comfortable to me.
I think that other people are probably feeling this pressure:
a pressure to write and show up in the world with an opinion on every major horrible thing that happens.
And then you have to deal with people having an opinion about your opinion, or your not having an opinion,
or the exact way you worded something, and
it feels like a million headaches.
And sometimes you weigh that against the possible positive impact it could have
(like if it does indeed have one).
But the truth is that people are individuals.
You also need to take into account your personal factors.
Maybe you have been ill, or
you are swamped with other life things, or
your mom just died.
We used to only expect politicians or people with a full-time career dedicated to this kind of thing
(and a few assistants)
to have the perfect public response to horrible events…
and you’re just a regular person.
As I said, last Wednesday I just needed to focus on taking care of myself because
pondering global crises was giving me sinus headache.
I was ill.
So I did that.
But these questions were definitely in my head:
But how do you know when you’re really in alignment with what you should be doing?
Versus just being lazy?
How do you know what hat you should be wearing at any given time?
Because sometimes life does call on you to wear new uncomfortable hats, and
sometimes that is just arbitrary and
it’s ok to dig your heels in and say, “Actually this is not the hat for me right now.”
Which is it for you?
Do you have something you are thinking about doing or writing that doesn’t quite fit comfortably?
How do you find clarity on what to do next?
Well, today I have the perfect finale to my “greatest hits” series.
A clip from a class I taught earlier this year,
This exercise that will help you determine what to do next:
- should you be focusing more on yourself right now? How?
- should you take some other kind of action to benefit others? What?
I highly recommend trying this exercise if you are feeling, lost, confused, purposeless.
It’s a really powerful exercise that I discovered in these last few years since my father died.
It helped give me a purpose and anchor.
In addition to helping me to balance the needs that I have in my grieving process,
I’ve used it to find clarity and purpose by being of service through:
my business, my writing and the nonprofit I support in Sierra Leone, Her Future Foundation.
After doing this exercise again in the past week, I took my necessary rest time.
I repeated it daily to help with my anxiety and I began to gain clarity on what else I wanted to do.
Eventually, I felt called to tell a few folks that I called my elected officials for a ceasefire. So I did.
That was my experience this time, it’s different every time and for every person.
Today the most important thing felt like sharing this limited replay with you.
It’s a recording of me teaching this exercise about six months ago.
Find clarity on what is right for you right now.
It’s available to watch for free until November 25th.
Click here to watch and do the exercise so you know what to do next
If you enjoy this clip, I have more like this.
It’s from this year’s Summer Writing Group on using your writing as leadership.
Sign up for the next writing group and you can watch the replays from the previous groups in the Vault.
The Video Vault has about 50 videos on creativity and writing,
including copywriting, writing as service, and tapping into your intuition to know what to do next.
The theme for the next group is Paths of Service,
because there are many ways to be of service with writing, including just writing for your own pleasure.
It can all be a win-win.
Make sure to pursue the path that is right for you.
If you want support to write and honor what is right for you right now,
The “PATHS OF SERVICE” Winter Writing Group will open for enrollment November 16th.
Sign up for the waitlist to show your interest (with no commitment)
You’ll get first grab!
It’s a low-priced but high-touch group writing experience.
Spots are limited.
