Hey Writers!
A few days ago, our very own Sara Campbell published a piece entitled F*ck Happiness in which she dug into a recent revelation about her propensity for feeling restless and agitated.
This state of agitation isn't new to me, and after years of fighting it, I've come to a counterintuitive realization: maybe it's not something to be fixed. Maybe these uncomfortable states — which lead me to affectionately refer to myself as a head case — are actually trying to tell me something important.
If you believe what you see from a lot of influencers on social media, it might seem as if they’re all living their best lives. What you’re not seeing are the people who aren’t able to somehow carve out time for their perfect morning routines that set them up for outsized success and leave them feeling grateful, happy, and fulfilled as they slide into their temperature-controlled mattresses each night.
Sara argues that maybe it’s okay if your life isn’t always comfortable.
True wellness isn't about feeling good all the time. It's about having the capacity to feel everything and still show up. It's about recognizing that our darkest moods, our most difficult states, our moments of pure frustration — these aren't failures of self-care. They're part of the full spectrum of human experience, and sometimes they're exactly what we need to move forward.
As I read her piece, I thought about how when you’re feeling uncomfortable, spicy, angry, or [insert any other negative emotion] those are great times to turn to the page and let them flow through you and onto the page. I mean, that’s basically what she did when she wrote her piece.
Sometimes we find our most powerful words in the discomfort.
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Note that we’re taking the next couple of weeks off from this newsletter for the holidays. We appreciate all of you who read our words and engage with the published pieces from our community members each week. Have a great holiday season and a happy new year!
📅 Events
Signature Writing Circle with Dan Hunt
Thursday, December 19th at 2:30pm ET
Simple + Consistent with Joel Christiansen
Friday, December 20th at 5:30pm ET
Simple + Consistent with Joel Christiansen
Friday, December 27th at 5:30pm ET
⚡️ Published
The Mind Is of the Chattering Class by Edward Garrahy
Why It Took 20 Years To Publish This Book by Joshua Doležal
what does a book tasting smell like? by Tobi Ogunnaike
All the Books I Read in 2024 by Russell Smith
Everything Is Okay by Jen Vermet
The Self Slaps The Notself by Nicholas Goodey
Tiny Revolutions №114: F*ck Happiness by Sara Campbell
Decembering by Sara El-Sayeh
It’s All Part of the Plan by Rick Lewis
Does anyone give any fucks anymore? by Alicia Bonner
Being Captain Obvious by Busyminds (Emmanuel Jegede)
How I Became a Scholar - Pt. 2 by Joshua Doležal
Hanging onto radical candor by Caryn
Some updates and the like by Lyle McKeany