When you were 23
Taking the eraser to old narratives / Issue 1,194
Oh, hi friends!
When I was 23, I was making a lot of money.
Well, it was a lot of money compared to when I was 21, and a lot of money compared to my lifestyle, but it also felt like a lot of money…generally!
And that felt really good.
It felt good to be paid what I thought I was worth —
— actually, no, at the time, I thought I was worth that much because they were paying me that much, not the other way around.
This is a crucial distinction. And it's a story that can follow you around.
The story that someone else always sets the terms. That they tell you what you deserve.
Tricky business, that one.
Because what you think you're worth, and what people will pay you, are often two different numbers.
It gets even trickier when you compare your present with the past.
Well, I made that once…
But this is a different situation…
Maybe that was my peak…
Lies lies lies lies lies.
(oooh, so aggressive, Kara never writes about "LIES" lol first time for everything this newsletter is an evolution)
Because they are lies! Attached to old narratives! Yoked to a previous version of yourself!
The common advice is to "know what you're worth" — but honestly, you can't figure that out until you untie the bows on all the various elaborate, beribboned versions of your career.
There are so many chapters in your life.
Past experience does not automatically dictate next opportunity.
Besides, you probably aren't accounting for all the years of learning and labor between then and now.
What am I saying?
Set your sights on more.
Whatever that looks like to you. Money, roles, clients, boundaries, career.
What if your 23-year-old self — or your six-month-ago self — realizes she was at the bottom of the mountain, and nowhere near the top?
You have so many places to go.
Look up.
gut punch good