May 17, 2020
“I’m feeling blocked around my writing practice. I have some goals around writing to write more, possibly start a blog or a newsletter or a self published book and I’m just having trouble starting.”
“I think so much of what a lot of us feel blocked around, whether it’s writing or some other creative project, is that we’re already thinking about the finished project. ‘Is this going to be good? Are people even going to like this?’ Part of it is, I like to say, people might not like it.
We still have to start, we still have to begin somewhere.”
“I quit drinking and noticed that not everything that I’ve done to support my own sobriety is applicable to my friend who is struggling to quit. What can I do?”
“If you have an addict in your life, someone who’s struggling with alcoholism or something else, it can be easy for those of us who are maybe caretakers or codependent or just love someone, to want to save them. The first step is always to know that we don’t have control over people, places, or things. We can’t save people.”
“How do I stop caring about what other people think of me? ”
“I think part of this is accepting that some people won’t like you. And I think going on that journey of self-acceptance is to lovingly be like, those aren’t my people. Focus on yourself, building your own self esteem. I think the way to do that is by doing esteemable acts - what can I do for my neighbor? What can I do for myself today? What kind of nourishing food can I eat? How can I be of service to someone? Maybe call a friend, check on them. You know, just doing things for ourselves that make us feel really good about ourselves.”
“I’m addicted to my phone.”
“I love phones, I think they’re amazing tools but especially in this time of alone time in quarantine, I think a lot of us are really feeling like we’re grasping at the phone, we can’t put it down, the mindless scrolling. I recommend making small commitments - you don’t necessarily have to say “I’m taking a social media break for a whole week.” I think sometimes I want to sign out, I really need a detox, and sometimes I just need an hour away. Have a plan - something that you want to be doing instead. I think this is where list-making really comes in for me, make a list of tasks you’re avoiding, and then tasks that bring you a lot of joy. ”