U/B 34: You don't always need to plan your next move
Why we need space to just be. Plus, a free 'unworkshop' for burned out creative types
Hi. The top of this letter announces a thing I’m testing: an offer to hold space for burned out (or burning out) creative types. The last part of the letter explains why this matters. Thanks!
Seeking participants for an unworkshop
It’s easy to get bogged down in thoughts about finding/knowing your purpose, having clear goals, or figuring your shit out. But what if the pressure to ‘know’ is actually getting in the way? This has been an ongoing theme for me in Useful / Beautiful, so I decided to make something in the real world.
Announcing Unplan your next move, an ‘unworkshop’ with the intention of creating a safe container where burned-out creatives can experience what it feels like to release the pressure of “figuring it out” and simply be present.
I’m hosting a free 90-minute pilot session via Google Meet on April 24 at 1:00 pm Eastern Time.
Sound interesting? Fill out this participation request form. Seats are limited.
Can’t attend but might want to do this in the future? Fill out the form to get on the mailing list.
✨ It will likely take you longer to recover from burnout than it took you to burn out in the first place. Let's honor that together.
Making space to be where you are
You can’t be stressed out, stretched thin, unsatisfied, underemployed, and unmotivated forever, right? There’s a clock ticking on how long you have to get your shit together, isn’t there?
That kind of thinking creates urgency. And it can be highly motivating.
But what if you still don’t figure your shit out? For whatever reason, you haven’t found or created a path. You don’t know which way to go. You still feel stuck or behind.
The reality is that you are where you are. You are only behind if you think you ought to be further ahead. That is a thought in your head, not reality.
It’s somewhat embarrassing how many books I’ve read or courses I’ve signed up for that have to do with “figuring your shit out”. And yet, the answers do not come easily. So I buy another book. Try a different approach. See what such-and-such expert has to say. That’s all well and good but it hints at an underlying anxiety to ‘get it right’. I know better, and yet I still chase some unknown ideal.
It doesn’t help that there are a million and one people hoping to sell you a quick fix — from apps to online courses, books, coaching, etc. I don’t blame them. They are trying to serve a demand in the market. Or are they generating demand? That’s another view. Maybe you don’t need to figure your shit out, find your purpose, plan your next move, 10x your life, etc. Maybe you could stand to just be, for a moment. Be in presence. Be in the ambiguity. Be in the discomfort.
The human brain is remarkable at anticipating the future and learning from our mistakes so we may try to avoid discomfort in the future. This is a good thing for our survival. But it can hinder us as well. We can’t live in that space of future preparation all of the time. I’d wager that the opposite may also be true — that we can’t not prepare — but that may be cynicism toward the culture in which I live.
My early career in the arts showed me the value of wandering and wondering. It’s not a belief — I know that it’s necessary to have periods of blank space, unfocus, what some may call laziness, in order to open the mind, to be receptive to insight and inspiration. If you’re too busy thinking and planning, you can’t hear the muses.
I don’t know where I’m headed, and that is ok. I am in slow, relaxed motion, inviting you to join me.
Thank you for reading. Your attention is a gift.
Love,
Kate
p.s. Will you share this with someone who might need it? Thank you
And now, some memes
