On Being a Beginner…
Is it just me or is it so ironic that the word ‘beginner’ has the word ‘beg’ in it. I feel like I am begging myself to start and begging myself on my knees to be brave in this Substack endeavor. Begging myself to become the person I say I want to be while simultaneously begging myself to love me right now as I am … the beginner. Because I am one. This is me, a brand new substack-er (new to the game or way late depending on who you talk to) with no instagram or facebook (bye meta, bye) to show for it. All while begging myself to stop pressing delete in fear that you will judge me or think I am judging you with the words I write. Because the truth is, we are doing both of those things anyways. All the time.
Oh I am hard on beginnings.
Really hard.
Beginnings are vulnerable.
Beginnings are brutal.
Beginnings are inevitable.
Beginnings are so human.
So here we are.
My first post.
We begin.
I launched this space for you and for me. I have goals to write more and express myself through storytelling, haikus, journal prompts and resource-sharing. And some times I think I am funny and have a curious way of sharing a simple moment in life with an option of optimism in there and honestly, we all need more funny and a touch of optimism right now. Like right now and yesterday.
A big also, I left the land of instagram and facebook (you can read more about it in the next article). I pressed delete. And I am currently on a giant emotional seesaw of arousal with one seat being anxiety and the other seat being excitement. It is a wild ride in which I will attempt to share my voice, my writing and create community as a big ass pivot to curate more joy in my own life (and yours) and a new definition of success in my business.
So, who are you, dear reader?
I find a big handful of us might still be playing in the land of lethargy. Anyone, anyone? Did you read Adam Grant’s article in the NYT about languishing? I know, we all read it in April of 2021 and after reading it we were all like, ‘ohhhhhhhh, that’s it!’. And while I love naming things to tame things, head nod to Doc Daniel Siegel and this Psych Today article, I have tamed it and am now ready to release that shit and I have a snarky feeling you are ready, too.
Why subscribe?
Come for the words, stay for the community.
You’ll get a once a month free newsletter with things like and around:
insights on optimism as optional because it is and you get to choose
stories about kismet moments that lean towards optimism and how I don’t always choose that choice
how I am trying to raise kids who don’t own an iPad (key word here is: TRYING)
And paid subscribers getting goodies like:
first of the month meet up on zoom for the Audit & ask
monthly journal prompts to support your writing, too
updates on the visions I keep re-writing and shredding and writing again
all access to twice a month long form stories
a haiku collection that drops quarterly (from aqua notes in my shower to you)
So, what do I do:
I am a motivational speaker, a speaker coach, a goal coach, a writer, a retreat leader, an event planner, a consultant, a hike leader, and I am one hell of a community curator.
I coach and have coached incredible humans, women business owners, and worked with organizations like Patagonia, NIKE, Kodiak Cakes, lululemon and MINDBODY.
I am also:
A mother. A wife. A big sister. The oldest child. An Aquarius sun, Cancer moon, rising Sag. A friend. A daughter. A Manifesting Generator with Sacral Authority in Human Design. A granddaughter (missing my grandparents here on Earth more often than I thought I could/would). A hiker. An enneagram 3, wing 4. A goal setter. A visionary. A person who cries in public. A book nerd with a library card that won’t quit. A novice poet (I literally have waterproof post it notes and write haikus on them…often). I also have started imperfectly baking bundt cakes, it’s a mess.
What can you expect here?
My writing style is an evolution of self where I find a story and share a message within the mess (see how mess is in message? I do that a lot with untangling of words), a thought, a feeling that perhaps creates a moment of pause, reflection and connection in you. I know humans are wired for connection, I am exploring this format to do just that.
Why Optional Optimism?
More on this to come. Yet, I have been exploring how optimism is optional these days and to be honest, it became a harder option for me to make. And that’s okay. We go through it, life is going to life. And as I loved hearing Esther Perel speak to this on Brené Brown’s podcast, we have tension within the different polarities of the emotional experience, joy and grief, discipline and freedom, spontaneity and consistency…to name a few. I love that language of tension that allows me to explore all my options. Some days I stay optimistic, other days I don’t.
A reminder in life and a reminder here: you and I always have the option.
See you in the stacks.
It takes a lot for me to get a new app, but where you share I’ll subscribe!!! Cheers to changes !
You inspire me! Thanks for sharing your voice.