Hello from Manila π΅π!
This week's newsletter was accidentally deleted.
I wrote the draft on my flight from Canada to the Philippines.
I was about to edit it, but then I experienced a creator's worst nightmare: the draft didn't get saved, and a YouTube script is also gone.
But I digress.
I've been in the Philippines for about four days, and I'd like to talk about the idea of being and feeling enough.
Before I left, I experienced the worst exhaustion from juggling all my rolesβwriting, YouTubing, nursing, and my actual life.
So in the upcoming weeks, I made my goal to learn what is enough for me.
It's so easy to get caught up with everything we have to do, whether that's
showing up on different platforms
traveling to popular places you see on social media
I thought something was wrong with me since I couldn't show up like others.
As a reflex, I signed up for another online course to help me "systemize" my writing process.
The course, created by Niharikaa, is amazing. I'm learning how to fit writing into my busy life.
But at one point, I asked myself, "why am I trying to systemize things? What if I actually don't like doing them? What if I actually only need to do 1 thing?"
I've been making my life hard for myself by feeling pressured to show up on all these social media platforms.
And I don't even know for what.
My why used to be, "so I can quit my job."
Which I did.
So instead of forcing myself, I've been really honing on the skill I want to keep improving: storytelling.
I've been writing "atomic essays" on LinkedIn for the past two weeks, and I've enjoyed it a lot.
It brought me back to the time when I didn't have any pressure to show up well.
And doing this one thing (almost) every day has alleviated so much pressure.
Writing short essays on LinkedIn forces me to pause and reflect to find stories worth sharing.
So I told myself, this is enough.Β
I stopped trying to be on Instagram, TikTok, and Medium.
(I allow myself to be in them occasionally, but they no longer occupy major headspace).
Writing on LinkedIn, just like this newsletter, feels easy and natural, while everything else feels forced.
I show up on Twitter with repurposed content, but for now, that's enough.
If you feel pressured to be doing everything, I encourage you to dig deep to know what's enough for you.
It won't be easy, but doing this work will teach you how to be content over time.
With online love π,
J
P.S. This year, my goal for this newsletter is to build stronger relationships with my readers. If you're keen, let me know what your biggest struggle is right now. Or if you have any questions, I'd love to answer them.