Waiting For Greatness: Introducing Some Good Words
A new monthly series of reads, podcasts, and more to help you think wiser, feel deeper, and make *shift* happen
Our last WANT post was all about setting, sticking to, and learning from deadlines – so here I am, sticking to mine!
Little vulnerable/honest moment: I held back on sharing link roundups for SO long. So silly, right?
But, not silly. Because my self-talk sounded something like:
“People don’t want to hear what you’re liking or finding useful. They want your writing.”
“There are enough link roundups for people out there, you don’t need to create another one.”
”Why would anyone want to read it?”
“What if one month you don’t have anything to share?”
These, of course, were all just ways to keep me feeling safe and secure in what I’ve been doing, and excuses to not add another to-do onto my list. At the end of the day, I just didn’t want to drop the ball.
But I love making these, and used to all the time — it’s how The Good Word originated, actually. Links, recommendations, and thoughts to help you move forward fearlessly in your life. Stuff to help you think deeper and feel fuller.
Ultimately, I just wanted whatever I sent to be really valuable to you. Really GREAT.
Go figure, not only is greatness subjective, it happens along the way.
If you’re stuck waiting for GREATNESS, GREATNESS can never actually take shape.
And so, we’re back with what I’m currently calling SOME GOOD WORDS. I’ve structured this first one kinda-sorta using the James Clear 3-2-1 rubric, but with my own spin on it: THREE things to read, TWO things to watch, and ONE thing to hear.
I’ve also included a Note From Your Self at the bottom. This note is meant to be read to you, from you. It’s a reminder of who you are, what’s possible, and what might be worth considering today.
I feel the need to give the disclaimer that I’m still playing with the format of this list, so if you have any suggestions or thoughts, I am all ears! Leave a comment in Substack directly in this post and let me know.
SOME GOOD WORDS
To quote Taylor Swift — are you ready for it?
(I am!)
Here are some links to articles, videos, podcasts, and more that have enriched my life lately — and that I think you’ll love, too.
THREE THINGS TO READ
How To Reframe Your Relationship With Exercise via Romper — Danielle Friedman did such a fantastic job in this piece of articulating what so many fitness professionals I know have been trying to tell people for so long: exercise is about so much more than the physical. This is a great article about how to exercise on your own terms and find joy in movement. The psychology of why exercise is good for us is changing, and that’s a really really good thing. Plus, I was quoted in it! (spoiler: if you’ve been in my classes, you’ve heard me talk about what a big fan I am of “let’s see” — not everything is gonna be right for you, and also, you don’t know what is until you try!) Read it here.
A Different Way to Think About “Quarterlife” via Anne Helen Peterson — This is actually an endless reading rec, disguised as a single article. I’m such a huge fan of Anne Helen Peterson’s newsletter, Culture Study. So much so that I almost recommended it all on its own, but then I wouldn’t be able to share link after link with you month after month and keep recommending it! :) Anne’s interviews in particular are really incredible, and I found this one on “Quarterlife” (the ages between roughly 25-40) fascinating. Pay special attention to the part about “Stability Types” and “Meaning Types.” Read it here — and subscribe, while you’re at it!
6 Red Flags Your Body Is Breaking Down From Overwork (*Katie’s addition: And How To Start Doing Something About It) via Fast Company — Yes yes yes a bajillion articles and hot takes have been written about “burnout.” And!! yet!! There is still MORE of it and MORE to say about it. I really like the term overwork vs burnout, since I think it’s a term many of us might be able to identify within ourselves quicker (whereas some of the assumptions about burnout might not feel like they apply, and then boom, you find yourself in Burnout Town USA). This piece does a great, succinct job of describing signs of overwork you might not recognize, and how to start doing something about them. Maybe you’ve fallen into the trap of overindexing on your schedule after the last few years of things feeling so up in the air — and so maybe you’ll recognize yourself here. I did. A short read that, I think, provides a lot of really tangible takeaways. Read it here.
TWO THINGS TO WATCH
Visible: Out On Television — Jeremy and I love, love, love watching docuseries (docuserieses??), and although this was released in 2020, it was new to us.
From Apple TV:“Visible: Out On Television investigates the importance of TV as an intimate medium that has shaped the American conscience, and how the LGBTQ movement has shaped television. […] Each hour-long episode explore[s] themes such as invisibility, homophobia, the evolution of the LGBTQ character, and coming out in the television industry.”
It’s mind-blowing to realize how many of the strides we might take for granted in 2023 were made relatively recently, and how different (read: not inclusive, downright harmful) LGBTQ+ representation in television was even 10-15 years ago. While we still have a loooong way to go, I walked away from this docuseries with passion and hope for the change to come…and with my wheels turning around ways I can do my part in ensuring it happens. Watch it here.
Bluey S2 Ep26: “Sleepytime” — Ok, we’re going in a different direction with this rec; hear me out. If you have a kid, you might already be familiar with it…but for all my fellow non-parents (and/or/also parents whose kids aren’t into Bluey, I guess), you have some very passionate Twitter threads to thank for me introducing this INCREDIBLY EXISTENTIAL AND DEEPLY MOVING EPISODE of Bluey to you.
(FYI, Bluey is an Australian Blue Heeler puppy, not to be confused with Blue of Blues Clues. I did not know this and assumed it was some kind of spin-off. Nope!)
”Sleepytime” focuses not on Bluey but on her sister, Bingo. She’s in the process of learning how to sleep in her “big girl bed” the whole night through. She has a very vivid dream. That’s all I will tell you. I cried. Of course. Watch it here or below.
ONE THING TO HEAR
All There Is with Anderson Cooper via CNN Podcasts — This might be the best full podcast season I have EVER listened to. By letting us into these super honest conversations around grief, death, loss, and love, Anderson Cooper is giving us all a gift. Not just us now, but our future selves too. Because whether it’s happened in your life yet or not, the operative word is YET. We’ll all be asked to navigate grief and loss in our lives — as he says in the pod, it’s the only thing guaranteed to happen.
I was hooked by the end of the first episode, which he recorded while cleaning out his late mother’s apartment. Something I experienced with my grandparents, and think about often when it comes to my own family (I am super sentimental/nostalgic and it’s very hard for me to part with things tied to the people I love. Ask my mom about how often I’ll text her asking if I have her blessing to get rid of something she gave me that now has so many holes in it or so many broken pieces it’s completely unusable).
I also don’t think I was expecting Anderson Cooper to be as unfiltered and raw as he was — I’d made an assumption he’d be putting on a “journalist persona” here — and it was not only refreshing but deeply moving to listen to him connect on such a human level with his guests, his listeners, and himself. As you can probably tell from this mini-essay, I cannot recommend this pod enough. Listen here or below.
THANKS FOR BEING HERE
I’ll be back with another one of these next month, along with a private section just for our incredible Paid subscribers (thank you for helping to make it possible for WANT to continue thriving!).
Move forward fearlessly, spread the good word, and be the you you know you’re meant to be…
ONE LAST NOTE FROM YOUR SELF…
When was the last time you truly considered the question you were (possibly) asked the most over the first 20 years of your life: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Probably a while ago, right?
It's never too late to dream about who and what you want to be. It's never too late to think about future-you, or grow into a new iteration of yourself.
If not now, when?