💌 Why You Need to Be a Triangle
On self-worth, slowing down, and regrets about quitting my job
Hi friends & new subscribers,
Coming back to Toronto after a whole month of being in the sun didn't sit well with me.
Luckily, the weather is becoming slightly better (if you count - 3°C or 26.6° F for my American folks), and I start my new nursing contract this week.
I'm both excited and terrified about it.
I'm excited because I used to love leaving home for work. I missed interacting with people. But at the same time, I'm terrified of not liking the job because that would mean I'd have to leave the profession (maybe not forever, but for a little longer than four months).
And that is terrifying since I'm still working through the disassociation of my value through my work.
Why You Need to Be a Triangle
As I've mentioned in my last newsletter, leaving my nursing job has really affected my self-worth and self-esteem.
I constantly had the feeling, "if I'm not a nurse, then who am I?"
Intentionally leaving your job and figuring out who you are without your work can be one of the most difficult experiences you’ll have. But I also believe that it's one of the most important ones you’ll go through if you ever do.
This has become apparent even among famous people.
Lily Singh, a famous comedian, actress, writer, and author has experienced the whole if-I’m-not-working-then-who-am-I too. In a podcast interview episode of On Purpose with Jay Shetty, Singh says that the pandemic has made her realize how much she valued herself through her work.
Without the events, awards, and other external accomplishments she’d typically get regularly, she realized that she didn’t know who she was without them.
This event prompted her to write the book, Be a Triangle.
In this Pop Sugar article, author Ryan writes about Singh:
She wants to builds a "foundation so deep that it will exist and thrive even if our surface-level efforts fail." That's where the triangle idea comes in because a triangle is a shape with a solid foundation but one that still allows for growth. "When you add to a triangle, you do not change the essence of what it is," Singh explains in the book. "You simply build upon it and make it an even greater, stronger version of itself."
It's such a perfect analogy of what I feel each of us will go through at one point in our lives.
Let this idea of being a triangle be a reminder for you to build a solid foundation of who truly are. Get to know your values and your belief systems. Make life decisions around what’s true to you.
By doing this, you’ll build a strong foundation of who you are, and no one can ever take it away from you. Not the pandemic. Not your boss. Not an algorithm.
No one can ever have power over you.
🧚 3 Fairy Tips for Multipassionate Creators
On writing: Read your writing on a different screen than the one you wrote on. Source
On entrepreneurship: How to sell more: pay attention to what you buy. Source
On life: Slow down, you’re doing fine. You can’t be everything you want to be before your time. Source
✨ Latest Work On The Internet
In case you're curious, here is my most recent work in the last two weeks.
✍️ You’ll never know if it’s the right move.
🎥 I Wish I Didn’t Quit My Nursing Job
🎉 YT journey win: 300 subs with 1000 hours of watch time 😊
🤔 Question for you: What is something you’ve been struggling with and why has it not changed?
Feel free to reply or message me. Would love to know.
With online love 💌 ,
Jerine
P.S. I would love to know how you like the format of this newsletter or if you’d like me to add/remove anything.
I love the visual of a triangle! It really emphasizes the importance of the foundation. Actually, it feels really appropriate when talking about identity when I think about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
I've gotten a decent balance between my business and gigs. The struggle I have is the balance between business activities and keeping the house clean around taking care of my toddler (while being amazed that my baby has become a toddler). I keep saying that I need to become rich enough to just hire a maid lol.
>What is something you’ve been struggling with and why has it not changed?
Setting up a good routine. I fell out of a decent routine I had last year where I actually made time to create. I've been prioritizing my physical activity a lot, which is nice! But the creative routine hasn't made its way back yet. Need to learn to balance things. This is more like an accountability post for me to start making some small changes :)
I like this newsletter format! Especially the "Latest Work On The Internet" section.