A love letter to myself (and all of us trying our best)

Can't I just write Substacks all the time?

Dear me, you’re way too hard on yourself. You’re doing a good job.

I’m really enjoying writing my thoughts here every week. It’s cheaper than therapy and whilst more public, I love the messages I get from people telling me they can relate. Keep them coming!

I had a moment of reflection this week. Running a business or paving your way in a profession, likely means you’ll uncover strengths in your character that you didn’t realise were there. For me, I was always branded as a ‘sensitive’ child. I got bullied at school, moved to another, but I was and am absolutely fine, so this isn’t a play for sympathy, however I would never have really considered myself to be thick skinned. Like me, if you’re running a business, working for yourself, or doing a stressful role, you might not have stopped to think of yourself as:

Resilient - business equals knock-backs, even the successful ones will have challenges to overcome. Look at me now, I am the queen of bouncing back from business blows (joking!).

Bold - some might call it stupidity, but not everyone would invest their savings/borrow money/raise capital/put endless hours into something that’s not guaranteed to work. Go you!

Fearless - not everyone would put themselves at the forefront of a business, social media, press, television in front of millions (e-hem), risking scrutiny and embarrassment on a massive scale. Perhaps you are braver than you thought?!

But, we do these things, or versions of these things that take us out of our comfort zone to ultimately support the end goal of making our business/careers successful. So for that, I think we should all give ourselves a pat on the back and, maybe a day off.

If you’re not happy, and things aren’t working well too, it really is courageous to take a moment to recognise that and make a change. It’s important to find joy in the daily and that comes in all shapes and forms for all people. But if your work is making you miserable, then you should try and find something to do, that you like. I just wish I could write Substacks all day, that’s my favourite thing to do right now.