Do It Again

How Even the Smallest Successes Can Feel Stifling

Happy Sunday, folks.

If you’re like me, the holidays may seem a little less celebratory than usual this year. I feel like I’m crawling into 2025, but I’m excited because…it’s Writer’s Block Party time!

An image of my vision board. Ready for 2025.

Uh ohhhhh. I took a little leap by putting myself out there, and you all came from everywhere to show your support. Last week’s 21 dedicated subscribers grew to 83, which warms my heart and blows my mind. It’s so inspiring to hear from so many of you about your accidents, injuries, career transitions, and personal journeys. Keep. Them. Coming!

But I’ve also gotta be honest and admit how much PRESSURE I feel as a result. In the last year, I’ve had to contend with a brain injury, a career transition, and the creative ebbs and flows of drafting my first book. And somehow, writing for your eyes is my hardest challenge yet. What gives?

If I had to say, it’s the pressure I’ve put on myself to replicate whatever brought you here. The instinctual need to continuously produce by doing whatever “it” is, again. And again. And again. My corporate law career forced me to pick a specialty, learn the requisite skills, and aim to offer value as quickly as possible. And as a recovering perfectionist, I’ve missed a million moments (and causes for celebration) chasing the next accolade or achievement.

But I’m coming to my senses and suspending the frantic rush toward a limiting “lane” and instead taking my time to define what this will be.

And in the spirit of my newly found flexibility, I’m doing away with my tiered, ten-part list of resolutions in favor of four simple commitments, which I’m making to all of you right here, right now. Unlike aspirational, outcome-focused resolutions, commitments are “deep, intentional decisions to take consistent action toward a goal regardless of the obstacles.” A no-matter-what set of objectives, that you’ll stop at nothing to achieve.

With that, here they are, my 2025 Commitments:

1. Room to Recharge: I’m still fighting my way back to 100%, and recovery from a brain injury can be a long and unpredictable path. So, first and foremost, I’m committing to self-care and rest. Novel concept, I know. As focused as I am on pushing forward my many plans, I’m equally dedicated to giving myself the time, space, and grace I need to fully heal. So, bear with me (or better yet, join me and commit to rest, too).

2. Authentic, Artistic Expression: I’m a writer now (whoa, still sounds weird AF). So, I’m committing to creating things that are truly and truthfully all me. And I hope they will make you feel, remind you of your humanity, and maybe even challenge you to change in some way.

3. Making Peace with Rejection: Just like lawyering where my briefs frequently came back covered in red ink, negative feedback is inevitable, so I’m committing to accepting rejection as part of this process. And becoming so comfortable, in fact, that I’m actually hoping for a bunch of writing rejections this year. No, I’m not a masochist. But achieving this goal means I’m putting myself out there, fully committing to this journey, and hopefully, learning even when I don’t get the answer I want.

4. An “Again…and again…and again” Effort: At the end of the day, this is art. I’m not pretending to have it all figured out. I’ll get it wrong. And sometimes I’ll get it really right, and you just may not agree. But if you’ll keep showing up, I’ll commit to continuous effort at writing, at improving, and at producing something worthy of your time and your eyes, again and again…and again.

Of course, I want you to love and click the heart on everything I do. As your support has shown me, it’s incredible to feel validated. But my ultimate objective in all this is to be free. I write to connect with others and to give you the most authentic, honest expression of myself and my world, with the hope that you see some of yourself in the stories I share. So, let’s dance.

But first: Not setting the scene is a big hostess party foul, so here’s a quick overview of what you can expect:

• Weekly posts about writing (as a craft and a career), cultural commentary, suggestions of events, shout outs to other artists, and a celebration of all things literary (remember our 4 Cs: craft, content, culture, and community);

• A front row seat to my journey to becoming a published author along with excerpts from my own work; and

• An encouraging word here and there, which is so needed in these challenging times.

This is a block party in the truest sense. So, it’s pointless to try to predict what’s to come, but I promise to do my very best to deliver, again and again. To that end, I’m putting the finishing touches on an incredibly exciting project, which I’ll share soon.

Happy (almost) 2025 to each of you. Thanks for being a part of my journey. I’m so happy you’re here.

Now, let’s get to work on those commitments. No time to waste.

What are you committing to in 2025? How would it liberate you if you allowed for (or even sought) a bit of rejection?

Let’s see what happens when we suspend the pressure for perfection by consciously choosing to take some risks and live a little louder. Maybe, just maybe, that’ll be what pushes us all from good to great in the New Year.