And we’re off!
June 29, 2023
Dear friend,
Happy summer! I hope this finds you well.
If you’ve been with me for a while, you know that I haven’t sent out a newsletter in a long (lonnnnnnng) time. In fact, it’s been six months since I’ve sent anything, and in the past year, I’ve emailed twice. Sigh.
That all changes now.
Today’s message is the first in a series exploring key themes in my two books, Well on Your Way and Well in the Lead. Every other Thursday, we’ll dive into topics like fear, perfectionism, and ease. While these may not be the lightest or breeziest of subjects, I promise we’ll approach them with honesty, optimism, and (hopefully) some humor. The goal is to release the grip of things that hold us back and amplify the things that help us shine. Importantly, you don't need to be an assistant professor or academic leader to benefit.
If you’re skeptical, I hope you’ll stick with us for a few rounds before concluding that it’s not your cup of tea. If you ultimately decide it's not for you, unsubscribing is just a click away. And if you end up loving the content, please share it.
With that, welcome to the conversation! Let’s begin by considering a passage from the preface to Well on Your Way (WOYW):
We hesitate to reveal our anxieties and missteps for fear of being judged as not enough . . . not smart enough, not dedicated enough, not good enough. What’s worse, many of us secretly believe these depictions and convince ourselves we don’t have what it takes to succeed. When we keep these worries hidden, they grow unchecked and eventually risk compromising not only our work, but our personal lives and overall well-being. (WOYW p. xiii)
How does this strike you? Does it resonate with your experience? If you’re anything like virtually every human I know, the answer is yes. In the book, I go on to share my realization that attributing universal challenges to our own individual shortcomings is, well, universal. And that awareness has generated a deep sense of solidarity and comfort in me. We’re truly in this together.
So where do we go from here?
First, I’d like to invite you to find a few moments over the next couple of weeks to ponder how it would feel to simply know that you’re enough. Afterwards, you might enjoy reading my favorite quote on fundamental enoughness, which I shared in this blog post a few years ago.
Second, while we’re thinking about worries, you may want to take a look at this short video that distinguishes unproductive from productive worry. Or maybe check out this mood-boosting recipe?
Finally, if you’d like to hear more of the preface to Well on Your Way, you can listen to the whole thing. Oh, and if you’re feeling super ambitious (we’re all over-achievers here), why not write your own preface to a book filled with all the things you’d most like the world to know, the words that only you can write? I’d love to read it if you’re willing to share.
That’s all for now. Please let me know what parts of this message were most helpful and what you’d like more of, okay?
Thanks for being here, and thanks for being you.
See you in a couple of weeks!
Elizabeth