The B-Roll #3

The B-Roll #3 đź•Š: I blew it.

September 26, 2021

This is the third edition of my weekly newsletter, The B-Roll. Thank you for coming along for the ride. 

Hey friend,

I blew it.

I tried really hard, but I just couldn’t do it.

I failed the lockdown.

New hobbies?

Plants?

Streaming?

Writing?

None of it panned out.

When we realized the consequences of the pandemic were going to last much longer than two weeks, the internet came together and coping mechanisms emerged.

The plant community grew and even those of us who normally have a black thumb thought “Well, we’re all rallying together now. I can give it another try.”

We took up new hobbies to help us cope with the abrupt interruption to our routines.

And yes, I mean “we.”

I bought a couple of plants. I decided I would finally take advantage of my garden.

Having discovered the gaming community through Animal Crossing, I tried streaming. And I don’t mean doing it half-assed. I bought my brother’s gaming computer from him. I paid a professional to design a logo for my gaming handle.

I decided that this would be the time to get started on my book! What better time to begin working on my passion project?

I failed.

Hard.

But not because I couldn’t hack it. Those two plants? They actually began thriving.

I had a small but decent community at the beginning of my streaming journey.

I set up the processes I needed to begin interviews for my book.

Then I quit. Because I realized I didn’t really want to do these things. I’m not really a plant person and I’m OK with that. I really love playing video games but on my own time.

I felt the pressure to turn my hobbies into a commodity or take on a new one because that’s what everyone was doing.

So I stopped doing the things that no longer made sense in my life.

Because it’s my life, and there are other ways I show up and belong in my communities.

***

Except for the writing. I am still going to work on my book, but I had to recover from burnout first.

Ironically, it’ll be about our relationship with failure.

***

Here’s the truth: You are capable of anything you put your mind to (as long as it’s physically possible and you’re not causing yourself or others harm).

But don’t put your mind to something if you’re only doing it to belong.

And don’t be afraid to walk away.

Life is about growing and trying new things, and you don’t have to fall in love with everything you try.

Your time is too valuable to spend it taking part in activities that don’t add value to your life, or finishing books or movies you don’t enjoy.

Don’t punish yourself because you feel guilty about not finishing a book that *everyone* around you seems to love, and you feel obligated to come back to it.

Yet it’s just sitting on your coffee table or tablet and every time you walk past it, you feel guilty for ignoring it.

***

So if you took up a hobby at the beginning of the pandemic but it doesn’t really make sense in your life right now, this is your sign to walk away without feeling guilty.

You didn’t fail.

You didn’t blow it.

You have permission to walk away from things that don’t add value to your life.

You’re allowed to make room for things you enjoy..

You don’t need to earn happiness.

***

So, did you take up a new hobby during lockdown that you walked away from? Or did you thrive? Either way, I'd love to hear about it.

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: Coming Soon

This is where I'll do a spotlight of things happening in your world. Have a project you're excited about? Raising awareness of a cause? Just want to share something that you think will resonate with people reading this? Send me an email with the details to share your awesomeness with this lovely community.

Speaking of sharing, if you think my letters will resonate with someone in your life, please don't hesitate to forward these emails.

LANGUAGE CORNER: The Aries stubborn edition

"Înadim inatdır, kıçım iki kanattır" literally translates to "My stubbornness is my stubbornness, my ass is two wings."

This is an expression used to express an excessive level of stubbornness. I call it the "Drunk Berrak" level.

SHARING CORNER: đź“šBook Editionđź“š

This week has been a little crazy with work, so I'll share some of the books I've read over the past year that's really stuck with me. Full disclosure, I'm not really good at rating books. I'll let you explore on your own, and if you're going to buy any books, I encourage you to order from Bookshop.org instead of Amazon.

***

Thanks for reading this far, friend. As with everything in life, this will be a work-in-progress and you can always hit "Reply" to give me feedback, commentary, or your thoughts on the topic of the letter.Until next time, I wish you a sane and healthy week.With love,