I write for women business owners who are successful, capable, and quietly exhausted by how much they carry and still somehow wonder if it's enough. I'm Amanda. I'm not your hype girl. I'm the friend who gets it. Subscribe for honest, weekly notes on what it actually feels like to do a lot and still give yourself permission to pause.
Nobody thought I took a break on purpose
|
Hey Reader, After a 2-month sabbatical from emails and content, I sent a note to this list last month sharing why I'd gone quiet. The response surprised me. My inbox filled up. And almost every message said some version of the same thing: "I noticed you were gone and I was hoping everything was okay." "I figured something happened โ I'm so sorry for whatever it was." "Were you burnt out?" Sweet. Caring. Thoughtful messages. And also... revealing. Because here's the thing: nothing caused me to take a break. My health is fine. My business is humming. I'm not burnt out. There was no crisis, no failed launch, no brick wall I finally ran out of energy to hit. I just... wanted to stop for a while. So I did. And not one person assumed that was possible. I sat with that for a while. The fact that the people who know me โ who get me โ couldn't conceive of a world where I'd choose a break before something forced one on me. That says something. About me, sure. But also about us. We don't stop until we have to. We push until a health scare, a breakdown, a hard season of life makes the decision for us. Taking a deliberate pause not as an emergency exit but as a choice barely registers as an option. I want to talk about this more. A lot more, actually. Because I think we're allowed to pause before s*&t hits the fan. I think we're allowed to stop something that's working just to see what happens when we do. I think the break doesn't have to be earned by suffering first. I took me years to figure that out. I'd love for it to take you less time. If this just clicked for you, hit reply and let me know. I'd absolutely love to hear from you. P.S. There's something I've been quietly building that's about exactly this. Small. A little old-fashioned and it's coming soon! Keep an eye out ๐ |
You're doing a lot...and it still doesn't feel like enough.
I write for women business owners who are successful, capable, and quietly exhausted by how much they carry and still somehow wonder if it's enough. I'm Amanda. I'm not your hype girl. I'm the friend who gets it. Subscribe for honest, weekly notes on what it actually feels like to do a lot and still give yourself permission to pause.
Hey Reader, How many first-day-of-school pictures have you scrolled past lately? From kindergarten backpacks bigger than the kid wearing them to the (genuinely shocking, see below๐) professionally-designed college dorm transformations... it's everywhere right now. Fun to see, but here's the interesting part: that whole back-to-school moment does something for our brains even decades past needing new pencils. It's called the Fresh Start Effect. It shows up at New Year's, on birthdays, and...
Happy August Reader, We've entered one of the weirdest months. It's kinda summer, kinda creeping into fall. Where I live it's still sweltering, but pumpkin candles are already hitting the shelves. I love pumpkin season. I'm just not ready for summer sunshine to end. You might be feeling that same tug-of-war. Part of you wants to hang onto slow summer days, part of you is ready to get back to a routine. Good news: it's coming. September and October tend to be the most productive stretch of the...
Hey Reader, do you remember the song "The Boy Is Mine"? Brandy and Monica, two of the biggest pop stars of the 90's and everyone assumed they hated each other. So they got in the studio and made a song together and it was a hit! A true win-win for everyone. (If you want to go down memory lane, here's the music video link. You're welcome ๐) In the spirit of women supporting women, I wanted to share a few things with you today: First, my friend Sabrina. She runs a fantastic business and hosts a...