The freedom of good enough

Perfection shmerfection. I'm over it.

When I started this newsletter, my plan was to send one out each week. As someone with a background in digital marketing, I know the importance of consistency. Subscribers want something they can rely on. And new readers want to see that you provide fresh content.

So that was my plan.

But we all know the saying, right? Man plans, and God laughs.

Well, God, I hear you. Hope you’re enjoying a good chuckle at my expense.

(Fun fact that I just learned––this phrase originates from a Yiddish saying: “Mann Tracht, Un Gott Lacht.” The more you know, right?)

I’ve had my newsletter in the back of my head over the past several weeks, feeling pressured to send one out, but unable to due to the following:

My family of four has been endlessly sick. I’m talking a non-stop cycle of coughing, sneezing, aching, barfing. All of the stuff. All of it! It’s been a rough go. Daycare germs are disgusting.

When not sprinting across the room to grab a bowl to catch a tiny person’s vomit, I’ve been very busy with work. My freelance writing business is taking off and I’m devoting whatever non-kid time I have to that. And since I’m spending so much time writing professionally, it can be hard to muster up the energy to write creatively.

And lastly, I’ve been stuck inside my own head––worried I need to follow the same format each time, worried I need to write something long and meaningful and expertly written to be worth anyone’s time, worried no one cares what I have to say, worried my ideas and thoughts aren’t worth sharing.

All of this has led me to stall. And it’s made writing this newsletter feel like one more daunting task on a list of so many.

But I’ve decided to change my mindset, as much as I can.

This is supposed to be my creative outlet. My happy space! If it becomes a burden, then that defeats the purpose.

And although it would be great to one day monetize this here newsletter, it’s currently nothing more than a free labour of love. Emphasis on free. No one is paying me to write these (yet!). I don’t actually owe anyone anything.

So when I think of it like that, I feel much more at ease––writing when I want and how I want. Consistency, be damned! Being a human is so hard right now. To just exist in the world is exhausting. I’m not going to put extra demands on myself that simply don’t need to be there. And neither should you! Forget doing everything perfectly. Sometimes good enough is… well, good enough.

I’ll be back in your inbox soon. How soon, I’m not sure––whenever inspiration strikes, and life affords me the time and peace to write.

Until then, lovely readers!

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Things I’m enjoying right now 😍

• Stranger Things is back! After a three-year wait, I was so happy to see the fourth season pop up on Netflix. (No spoilers, PLEASE, I’ve only watched one episode so far.)

• I just finished season 2 of The Wilds. Does anyone else watch this show? I don’t hear people talk about it, but I’m a fan. (If you’re wondering what it’s about, think Lost with angsty teenagers.)

• I’ve thought a lot about how the pandemic has likely changed so many people’s plans to have children. This article is worth reading if you think about that too.