"I wrote my way through it"
"I wrote my way through it."
Happy Sunday, Soothers. I had a client in my Soothe mastermind who was, as I like to say, Going Through It the past few months. She had bumped up against horrible burnout; she was going through a breakup; massive changes in her work and business; a new self was emerging, but as it so often does, the portal of growth that was unfolding was more like a terrifying rollercoaster that nobody ever asked to ride, but found themselves strapped in there anyways, just holding on for dear life and screaming.
Nevertheless, she showed up to every call, with fullness, with presence, tending to herself. I asked her once how she was doing it, still showing up for herself when everything around her was so painful. And she told me first, that she journaled her way through it. Every day, even if it was just for 3 minutes, she checked in with herself on the page. She's done this now for dozens if not hundreds of days and doesn't have any intent of stopping.
Then she told me really, if she could put it into a framework, what she was doing was this:
1. Writing herself through it with the daily journaling
2. Ask for support (she is in Soothe, she started working with a therapist again, she reached out to friends vulnerably)
3. Feel all the feelings (she would cry nearly daily, she said, and it was one of the first times in her life she had let herself do that without shame, without suppression)
And when I heard all of that, I said: Yes.
That's it.
Supporting yourself and having your own back doesn't mean everything in your life looks calm and peachy. It means when it gets real and raw and painful, you keep building a relationship with yourself through journaling. You reach out when you are at your lows and let those who love you see you there and help you through. You cry, you scream, you lay on the ground and pound with your fists.
You walk through the portal, step by step, resting when you need to, checking in with yourself, supporting yourself, letting others hold you on the days you don't think you can walk.
And you just Keep. On. Going.
This post goes out to that client, and all of you who are in portals of pain and growth right now.
I see you, I honor you, I send you my love. You CAN do it. I'm rooting for you.
Keep writing your way through it. Ask for help. Feeling the feelings.
And eventually, on the other side, the sun will rise again for you. I promise.