Well, hello old friends! It has been awhile and I’m sure you have been wondering where I’ve been. Today I want to catch you up on what’s been going on and hopefully where this space is heading.
I don’t usually get super personal in this space unless I am using my experience as an example. Although I do try to represent myself honestly, especially as it relates to my own mental health journey. When I was working on my January content, I didn’t have intentions of taking a pause, but what is the saying? Show God a plan and watch Him laugh?
Looking back with hindsight, I had been pushing through for a long time. Many creators, especially bigger and more well known ones, have entire teams that work for them. Professional photographers, video editors, social media managers, and the like. I am a one woman show. I was pushing to create content. Pushing to try and keep the blog and all my socials running. Pushing to keep pace.
I wasn’t having fun, it wasn’t as rewarding for me, and I’m guessing things had gotten pretty stale for those of you on the other side of the screen. All of this collided with some personal challenges, too. My husband took on a new role in his job that we needed to adjust to. My son’s teacher left mid-year and we had to deal with a revolving door of longish term substitutes and the upheaval that created.
I hate the argument (fitness based or otherwise) that we all have the same 24 hours as Beyonce. No hate to Queen Bee, but we don’t. Not even close. I’m not just a one woman show here. I also teach part time and wear the chaos coordinator hat. Add in that we don’t live close to extended family, which means there is little safety net for us. Unless I wanted to devote part of my sleeping hours to work, I had no time left to give.
And so, my old nemesis, anxiety, paid me a little visit. She really is a b*tch. With everything happening, I was riding a struggle bus without a driver. Some days were okay and others I was ready to dump everything. After a bit of reflection, I decided that the best thing would be to put the blog and social media on hold.
But something funny happened. I was able to do something that I am rarely able to do… give myself grace. I gave myself permission to just leave it be and pick it back up when, and if, I felt ready again. In truth, the weeks between mid-March and early May are always some of the craziest of the year in our house, due to the academic schedule of the university my husband and I work at. The absolute relief I felt at having one less thing on my plate during this time was astonishing.
I’m in a much better place, but it is time for a slightly new direction. And that will translate into some changes for this little corner of the internet. First and foremost, my posting schedule is going to change. My goal when I started six years ago, was one solid post per week. But I started without social media, and of course trends with that have changed substantially since then making it hard to maintain quality content everywhere.
So, new posts will still be on Tuesdays, but I will be aiming for two per month for the remainder of 2024. I will pick up the previously introduced Value Add series next month. But the new posting schedule will hopefully leave me time to work on a few things I’ve had on the back burner for several years. You read that correctly. Part of my struggle has been my ability to work on these projects.
My goal has always been to release quality content. In whatever format that takes. Content for its own sake is just noise and I think we can all agree that there is already too much noise in the fitness and wellness space. I’d like to be able to maintain a presence on the blog while also working on some of these other projects that I think are valuable and that you will enjoy.
Additionally, you may see some changes in the site’s format and layout. I will be the first to admit that I am not the most tech savvy person and, again, I’m a one woman show. Not only is good quality content important, but being able to find things easily is clutch. Truth be told, I’ve got some catch up to play there.
If you follow any of my social channels, there will be changes there, too. Of course, those have been quiet during my break, but I’ll be spending some time evaluating which platforms are serving me and the information I want to provide, which maybe need some tweaks, and which I need to part with. The only thing I can say for sure at this point, is that Instagram is a necessary evil so check out @mentalmusclewellness for updates.
If you’ve stuck with this page through four months of quiet, I’d like to extend my sincere thanks. I know my struggles don’t necessarily rate compared to a cancer diagnosis or cross country move, but sometimes it is the accumulation of 1000 little things that make it clear we need a break or change. I appreciate all of you for hanging around and I hope I don’t disappoint.
Until next time, be well friends.
