Photo from @girlboss
Happy holidays to you! We have one more to go before the season is officially over and I hope yours has been as stress-free as possible.
That was my goal when I flew from California to the Carolinas to be with my family for the holidays. With depression always bubbling below the surface in my heart, I was conscious of what I could do to keep those feelings from rising to the top.
Turns out, taking a break from writing was the solution. I’ve been working on a memoir since the beginning of October. Every day I’d chip away, averaging about 1,600 words per day. Some days, I did 50. Some days, over 3,000. I’m at about 80k right now.
And you know what? It feels great for my mind to rest; letting the words breathe and settle onto the page. I even toned down my active social media life, too. Those who follow me on Instagram stories may have noticed I’ve gone from about 20 posts a day to a fraction of that. It was hard at first, but when I caught myself feeling panicked that I wasn’t producing enough content, I took a step back and said, “It’s ok. It’s ok to take a break.”
Next week, I’ll post more about dating a commercial fisherman and the lively emails I’ve received from readers going through relationship ups and downs. Until then, I’ll journal every night. Read when I can. And generally not pressure myself into anything that doesn’t feel natural. I hope you’re able to be kind to yourself by giving yourself a break in some ways, too. (You deserve it! It’s ok to take a break!)
See you next year! Until then, I hope you have a wonderful rest of 2019. Stop and give yourself a pat on the back for all the growth you’ve done this year.
The 2018 “you” is pretty damn proud of all you’ve done and all you will do.
How was your holiday? Do you have any tips or tricks to survive the madness? Please share in the comments below!
Some goodies in case you missed them: