My brain has been a swirling mess lately… have you been feeling this way too?
I feel like my life is full of dichotomies right now- i.e. I want this thing and then I also like want the opposite thing.
I want people to know about what we do and I don't want to churn out content every two seconds and be in people's faces.
I want five clients because we know the work that we're doing is so impactful and that can feel like a lot.
I want to spend my time on Substack and I don't want to rush and force for consistency.
I want to create courses that share all I'm thinking about and selling studio batching sessions feels like an easy place to focus…. but it's not like five recurring clients.
SOS: My thoughts are just so circular- I feel like an Excel spreadsheet circular reference.
I have all of these ideas that are contradicting and in this process of feeling through the contradiction I leaned into journaling, as I do, and found some relief.
Creating Intentional Content
We just got back from a trip to Charleston which was so insightful. We really got a taste of this future familypreneurship lifestyle we're so excited to live.
Which has also led to a lot of different conversations on:
How do we get there quicker?
What actions will move the needle forward and make it happen?
What’s the most impactful thing to focus our limited attention on?
And all the while, in the back of my head, those old school marketing voices were making me think: Do I need to record something real quick to stay consistent?…
They say consistency is key, right? That by showing up consistently, your people know when to expect you and you always stay top of mind.
But as a creator it makes me feel like I need to push and show up regardless if I have something to share or not- otherwise I’ll be “forgotten” or I “miss out” (in theory.)
I've been thinking about this a lot, and that doesn't feel like reality anymore.
Yes, at one point, putting consistent content out there on a specific day at a specific time, like TV shows did, made sense. You did love waiting for Thursday nights at 7 when Friends came on. You counted on it.
But now, we have the choice as the consumer. We can choose to consume what we want, when we want and how much we want. (One of the many reasons I love Substack.)
And so I think flipping that script as a creator, and a creative, is really recognizing: Does it matter if I show up on the same day at the same time just to stay top-of-mind?
Are my people even waiting for me? No. Most of us don't recognize when someone hasn’t posted because we come to it on our own time.
And since I've left Instagram (other than posting our upcoming Podcasting Moms Conference April 15th in Nashville) I've noticed that anxious pull towards the shoulds of showing up has dissipated a lot, which is huge.
My new definition of consistency
I've really been thinking about: coming to things on my own time, slowing down, not pushing. And so that's exactly what happened with this podcast. In theory, I “should” have posted this last Sunday. But it wouldn't have worked for my schedule and honestly, I had nothing to say then.
I want to bring you these episodes because I actually have something to say.
And in this time since we traveled and I've been swirling with my thoughts, I left room for magic…. and stuff worth sharing surfaced. No effort. No force. Just flow.
So if churning out content feels like a drain- consider leaving room for magic in your creation process. What would it look like to wait for that inspirational hit? That intuitive PING!
Chances are everything will continue to grow in your business even if you don’t send out that forced post that you aren’t feeling good about.
(I'll be sharing more about our feminine business framework that we've been focusing on, which is very much about discoverability and how quality over quantity is what I'm seeing in the actual trends.)
Consistency Part Two: Coming Sunday
Since recording this episode I had the pleasure of interviewing Kendall Cherry for this Substack. The episode will air on Sunday and helped me view consistency in an even deeper way…. and dare I say: consider a new way to show up consistently…. Tune in to hear how we can leave room for magic and show up when it feels good and do it consistently by bottling up those moments and reusing them again and again.
Maybe a life full of dichotomies isn’t so bad… Can’t wait to share that more!
P.S. If you’re reading this via email I encourage you download the Substack app as it’s a lot more user friendly and gives you an opportunity to be a part of these chats. It’s free and I’d love to have you contribute!
If you don't want to churn out content for consistency's sake...