I loved meeting you and hope to connect again soon! Meeting you was one of the highlights of our Substack writers evening :-) I love the work you’re doing and look forward to reading your posts! You are so inspiring, and your work totally resonates❤️
Yeah, giving yourself permission is key! I think what's been hard for me in the past with social engagements is the external expectations I imagine others have or that I put on myself! If I can unhook from those and just tell myself, "I'm doing it my way," ie, go for an hour, talk to the three people I love and introduce myself to one new person, then go home, maybe I can enjoy people-ing more? A new experiment maybe! Have a lovely New Year, however social it is!
So glad to hear your new maxim for not holding back! My own version of that, that helps me sometimes, is “move without hesitation.” Great to meet you there!
AFTER I wrote the post I realized that since I quit drinking 6.5 years ago, socializing with strangers has felt very different... Something I look forward to exploring. in a future post. I love the idea of "No hesitation."
I appreciate you sharing that. Alcohol was a big part of socializing for me too, but once I stopped drinking, I found the very commonly-held idea that _not_ drinking would be some sort of a barrier in social settings to be not only vastly overstated but entirely the opposite of how it felt for me. For me, not drinking makes socializing a bit more edgy perhaps, but also more far more interesting. Not more difficult. More real. I'm interested to hear how it's been for you. Cheers Marika.
I loved meeting you and hope to connect again soon! Meeting you was one of the highlights of our Substack writers evening :-) I love the work you’re doing and look forward to reading your posts! You are so inspiring, and your work totally resonates❤️
I'm bowing out of two social engagements so... I hear ya!
Yeah, giving yourself permission is key! I think what's been hard for me in the past with social engagements is the external expectations I imagine others have or that I put on myself! If I can unhook from those and just tell myself, "I'm doing it my way," ie, go for an hour, talk to the three people I love and introduce myself to one new person, then go home, maybe I can enjoy people-ing more? A new experiment maybe! Have a lovely New Year, however social it is!
Loved meeting and connecting with you too! Been soaking up your newsletter and experiments since. Happy holidays!
I hope yours was wonderful and that this holiday "in-between time" is bringing you joy!
So glad to hear your new maxim for not holding back! My own version of that, that helps me sometimes, is “move without hesitation.” Great to meet you there!
AFTER I wrote the post I realized that since I quit drinking 6.5 years ago, socializing with strangers has felt very different... Something I look forward to exploring. in a future post. I love the idea of "No hesitation."
I appreciate you sharing that. Alcohol was a big part of socializing for me too, but once I stopped drinking, I found the very commonly-held idea that _not_ drinking would be some sort of a barrier in social settings to be not only vastly overstated but entirely the opposite of how it felt for me. For me, not drinking makes socializing a bit more edgy perhaps, but also more far more interesting. Not more difficult. More real. I'm interested to hear how it's been for you. Cheers Marika.
Thanks for the mini celeb moment! Wish we could’ve chatted for longer. Next time!