Thriving in Chaos – The Book!

Yes – I’ve written a book! 

Have you ever thought to yourself “when”? When the kids go back to school. When the holidays are over. When I get that job (or that partner, or that raise). It seems we want things to settle down before we get on with our lives. It will be easier then to take care of ourselves – our mental or physical health. Easier to stay on track when we get there.

Unfortunately, things never really do settle down altogether. We are in constant motion. There is always something ending and something new beginning. In that constant change, we need to find a way to grow. A way to find our purpose and live in hope. Circumstances be damned!

Right, so how do we do that exactly? That is the subject of my book. 

Life: the MAIN event

Recently I started chanting this mantra to myself every time I have been tempted to put something off: Your life is not your side hustle. Just so I will not forget that it is never going to feel like the perfect time to publish.

This realization began to grow for me when I turned 40. As I took stock of my life, I realized that I am probably never going to have all my s*it together all at the same time. There is always going to be something that needs my attention. That idea was so freeing! It was not something that let me off the hook. I still have to pay attention to the areas of my life that are important. But it did give me space to breath. 

I could look at some aspects of my life that were working – like my relationships with my kids – and keep doing the things I was doing there. Then, I could put attention on other areas of my life that needed a little more work – my physical or financial health. Working through these things did not feel so overwhelming. 

The main question is: When things DO need our attention, do we treat them as a priority or an afterthought? 

Everything you hear these days on social media seems to be about a side hustle. People doing things outside their daily work life that will change their future in some way. The problem is that there is only so much time. And what if you wait to arrive at success to be happy. There are no guarantees.

When we put so much time into catching our dreams, we can forget about the present moment. We may put things on hold. Important things – savings, relationships, exercise. Things that are key to living a healthy, happy life. The things that sustain us through difficulties and struggles. Things like trauma and grief.

So, what’s the book about?

It is not easy to put yourself in the center of your daily activities. There is always so much to do – at work, with the kids, as a volunteer or a good friend. My book is an attempt to look at life from various perspectives so that we continue to grow and thrive in the chaos of day-to-day life. We only get one life. 

My goal is for life to be a life of good health in many dimensions –family, finances, fun, physical.  Live it so there will be no regrets at the end. To do that I am writing about the things that may trip us up (anxiety, depression, grief, loss) or that tend to get neglected (emotional, mental, spiritual health). 

Often, we are dragging things around with us that take up energy we need for our daily life. Old baggage, or wounds, or stories – things we may need to put down. When do we ever have the time to do that healing work?

Because I am a narrative therapist, I like using story to illustrate my points. I am also the queen of the analogy. But, I also like a little action so I hope to pepper the book with reflective activities that may help someone get an insight into something they have been struggling with.

I am crazy excited to be working on this project! In the meantime, as I write the book and work with the publisher, I will continue to blog. It will need to be monthly so I can do other things – like podcasts. Starting in October, I will be doing a weekly (I hope) podcast and some short videos. These things are my attempt to feel comfortable with speaking, especially in front of the camera. Just like my blog was my attempt to feel comfortable with my writing.

I hope you follow my journey through this process – Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn. These are most likely the platforms I will continue to engage with. Wherever you are, look for me. My social handle in most places in Peddling Hope. But, sometimes you can find me by my name (like on LinkedIn).

Thank you for supporting me as I run towards this big, hairy, audacious dream of mine to be a published author. 

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