By: Stella Orange
After I gave birth, I described my body as a house the morning after a party, with the empty glasses and the dirty dishes and chairs pulled up to couches. Great party! But oy, what a mess to wake up to!
Right now, my digital space feels like that house.
The party’s over, and I’m badly in need of a shower and a big glass of something green.
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I overextended myself, with the social media and the broadcasting and the posting and the falling all over myself to try to get people to like, friend, heart, comment, DM, and notice.
Busy work, most of it.
Vanity work, most of it.
Non-revenue generating work, most of it.
Meanwhile, the truth is: all I want is to be in cahoots with people doing good work.
As I pull back from social media — because it doesn’t spark joy, deepen collegial relationships, or bring paying customers – I’ll cop to feeling like it might break the business.
Who am I to give into the reality that: uh, I don’t enjoy any of that and don’t want to hire a team member to do it for me?
Here, I see that I had been willing to compromise – if it brought business, I’d suck it up and do it.
Curiously, I thought I had eradicated the “suck it up and do it” thought pattern years ago. I don’t suck anything up to do it anymore. Or so I thought!
Following this line of thinking all the way through: what if I flipped it, so that I start with what I enjoy and what feels alive?
And THOSE are the places I show up in?
THOSE are the people I work with?
THOSE are the activities I do to drum up leads and foster collegiality? And do I have the audacity to understand that “sucking it up and doing it” is actually a signal that something is not working… is not actually be mine to do… and may NEVER lead to its intended result because my heart just isn’t in it?
Ah, yes. That’s the nugget right there.
Stella is cofounder and copywriter at Las Peregrinas, a creative and consulting agency. As our resident word nerd, she writes copy and points out the stories everyone is living and telling through their work. She is also fun at parties.
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