Hi, here’s a Band-Aid, now rip it off
Oh, hi friends!
Let’s say you used to draw all the time in college. Or you ran track in high school.
Activities that were once as constant as a heartbeat can sometimes, with time, vanish.
In a different phase of your life, you wrote every day. Or you read every night.
Priorities shift, technology changes, work creeps. Maybe you’ve taken some time to step away.
It’s OK — but sometimes fear can set in before returning to something that felt natural, even fun.
What if I don’t know how anymore?
Where do I even start?
I don’t want to be a beginner.
Three different solutions:
1. Work around it.
If you’re afraid of starting your blog or newsletter again, open a fresh document and write about the last time you wrote. Write about what’s sitting on your desk. Write about a giraffe. Work around it. Then try to create a bridge.
2. Rip off the Band-Aid.
Sit, set a timer for 20 minutes, start. Don’t stand up, don’t look at the clock. Just do it. (Admittedly, this is the most painful solution! But boy, is it quick.)
3. Remember no one is watching.
Maybe this is bad news if you’re looking for a huge audience, but it might be comforting, too. No one will see you tiptoeing back to your pond. No one will judge you. No one that matters, anyway.
Sometimes we just have to feel the fear — and do it anyway.
Photo by Jonatan Pie on Unsplash
Hi, is it still winter?
My friend Delia Cai, who writes the unrivaled daily media newsletter Deez Links, just launched an online store with a tote bag and pins, and I love them all!
I wanted to let you know for two reasons: 1) in case you wanna scoop them up, and 2) the store she’s selling them on — DFTBA — is founded by brothers Hank and John Green (whose YouTube channel I love) and sells high-quality and beautiful totes, shirts, pins, etc.
Good to know for both buyers and anyone who wants to create products themselves! The Internet makes it so, so easy. Um, do I need to make Brass Ring merch now?!
Do you like these daily emails? Please share with a friend!
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara