#166 - I’m Going To Be Honest With You
It’s been a rough start to the year for me and it was a rough 2023. I’m back in healing mode after both mental and physical health issues. I received a diagnosis that I’m still processing but am I’m not quite ready to share (I will probably eventually). Nothing life threatening, just perspective altering. Because of that, I’ve been the epitome of this meme:
And for a while what I had was not much of anything. I tried, but I learned after burning out in 2021 that pushing through tough times and working hard will get me nowhere but more burnt out and I wasn’t looking for that on top of everything else.
Which means I haven’t been bringing my best self to very many people in my life. I am lucky that I have people who understand and support me regardless of my productivity. I was given space and grace to first just get my feet under me and then start to heal. And when I say people, yes I mean friends and family, but I also mean clients. That is the magic of running a business focused on doing great work with values-aligned people, all of them (except one that I’ll tell you about another time) gave me room to be human, and not well, and imperfect (while also of course doing my best for them and their brands).
But that means I haven’t been able to get myself to this newsletter, which I hate. I’ve tried. I’ve been trying. But the inspiration and creativity that this newsletter sparks and fuels was at the lowest it’s ever been in my life. It’s only after this past week of dedicated rest in Prince Edward County that I finally got to a place physically and mentally to do more of anything. Yesterday was my first full workday without the need for extreme recovery after. I’ve gotten really good, though, over the past few weeks at listening to my body when I am too tired, focusing only on what matters most for work, and practicing self-compassion and non-judgement. It has been hard but sanity saving.
So here we are at what I hope is (another) fresh start. But I also want to thank you for waiting me out and staying with me as I fumbled my way through maintaining this newsletter that I truly love to create for you. I have already started getting those sparks as I’ve helped clients and a few pro bono workshop groups over the past few weeks and can’t wait to share new insights and tools to help you share your story and grow your impact through communication.
If you’re new here and haven’t had the chance to experience the regular flow of this newsletter, get ready. While I am going to stick to a two-week cadence to continue to give myself grace, my goal is to get back to weekly as I heal and process my experiences of the past few months.
If you’re a paid subscriber. I want to especially thank you for your support and offer you something that I’ve been wanting to share with your for months but have not had the capacity to get it to the perfectly wrapped, bow-tied offering I was hoping for. For being here and being awesome, I’m offering free virtual 1:1 one-hour storytelling feedback sessions with me. I usually offer these to clients as part of my workshop packages and do them as one offs for those who reach out at a cost of $250. So I would REALLY encourage you to take advantage. I’ve done them with career stories, business stories, personal stories, creative stories and am happy to work with you to unlock whatever story you may need a bit of coaching and support bringing to life. If you are interested at all, hit reply to this note or leave a note in the comments and I will follow up. But also, I will send a subscriber only note later this week (my sister is having a baby this week so things are a little hectic and wonderful) with more details for you.
If you’re not a paid subscriber but want to take advantage of the session, you can subscribe before the end of the week or reach out and book the session with me directly.
So really what I want to say is thank you and I’ll be in your inbox in two weeks with more insight, resources, and tools for better communication through storytelling.
A Story Well Told – A Story of Better Work
I’m usually much better at sharing Re-Work related tools that I think you’ll find helpful sooner, but please see above note 😅. We launched something I spent much of 2022 and 2023 creating and then perfecting with the input of the Re-Work community and the effort of amazingly talented designers and my co-founder Natasha. A few weeks ago, we released the Re-Work workbook. Both digital and hard copies of it for sale for the first time outside of our workshops.
It’s a tool we use to help our workshop participants move through the process of understanding burnout, healing from it, and crafting a path forward for greater sustainability and wellbeing at work. The reaction to it in our sessions was so profound and the feedback of how it helped people—from one community member who decided to re-launch a business with a new approach, to another who moved through the painful process of a layoff with it—craft new approaches to their careers focused on wellbeing and meaning. Check it out and also, reach out to me if you’re curious about what we’re doing over at Re-Work. I’m proud of this one and if it feels like something that may be helpful to you, I’d encourage you to explore or share with folks in your world.
P.S. If you enjoyed reading this newsletter and want to support you have options(!):
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