One of those Days...
That felt like a week!
Before we get into this week’s article I wanted to tell you about a new book coming out next week that I co-authored with Joe Pulizzi and 31 other amazing content entrepreneurs. The Content Entrepreneur was a year long but enjoyable project and is the 2nd colab book I’ve done.
If you’re a content creator, or run a business that uses content, then this is well worth reading. Every author runs a successful content business and shares a wealth of information in the book.
You can order a copy here:
Do you ever have one of those days that, at the end of it, feels like a week?
That was our Friday a couple of weeks ago.
I won’t bore you with all the details but it started off with a social account being hacked (not mine) and ended with us feeling like it had been the longest week in our lives, except it was only one day!
It’s not uncommon to have bad days.
We all do.
But what happens when you FEEL like there are too many bad days and not enough good ones?
Well firstly, I’m here to tell you that ‘feelings are not reliable’.
Sorry, they just aren’t.
If we only acted on how we feel about any given situation, my kids would never get to school on time, because there are not many mornings when I FEEL like getting out of bed when the alarm goes off for a school day.
Thank goodness school frowns upon being late all the time; the shame keeps me motivated!
And gees who wants an email, or a call from the school office to come in and chat about your son or daughter’s tardiness, by which they mean you!
It’s like when they say “J really needs to be more organised and arrive at lessons ready to learn”, what they really mean is “get your act together woman and sort this kid out”.
But I digress…
I’ve spent a lot of time doing personal development work, and I know that feelings are important.
How we feel about a given situation can often change the outcome.
But we need to be careful because (see above) ‘Feelings are not reliable’.
When you go through challenges, it’s easy to get lost in your feelings, which can often (but not always) send you down a spiralling path that usually leads to never solving the issue and sometimes depression that can often make the situation worse, as you don’t want to (or can’t) deal with it.
So you may ask, “if we can’t rely on our feelings Michelle, what can we do?”
After all these years the only thing I know that works is to be KIND.
Kind to yourself
Kind to your kids
Kind to your significant other (if you have one)
And move with kindness through the world around you.
NOTHING and I mean NOTHING else works as well as this.
Kindness means, the kitchen floor definitely does not need to be washed today.
No one will die if it stays dirty until tomorrow, or even next week for that matter.
Kindness means, playing lego or video games with your kid when they ask instead of trying to concentrate on the piece of work you have been struggling over for the past two hours.
Kindness means toasted sandwiches or even cereal for dinner to give you a break.
And no, they will not die of starvation or become malnourished because of this (despite your mother’s voice in your head telling you the opposite!).
Kindness means getting into bed at 7pm to relax and watch your favourite tv show.
Kindness can mean ANYTHING that allows you to give yourself a break.
What does your type of KINDNESS look like?
When you have one of those days that feels like a week, try to remember to be kind to yourself, things will look better tomorrow.
As we seek excellence in all we do, I want to share with you what I’m up to each week. It will keep me accountable to you, my readers and it will also help me to reflect on what I’ve done over the previous week. I’d love to get your feedback on whether you think this is a good idea or not.
➡️ This Week’s Progress
Exam prep continues and I’ve been making History falshcards! BUt also working on my website for ETC.
➡️ This Week’s Reading
Going through my ‘author’s advance copy’ of The Content Entrepreneur. As per details at the beginning of this edition.
➡️ This Week’s Viewing
My son is studying ‘The Cold War’ in history so we are starting a Netflix series on it, to help with exam revision.
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Michelle is a Writer, Marketer, Content Entrepreneur, Historian (Mst Oxon) and mother of 3 boys.
After 25 years in business and as the ‘Content Marketing Queen’ for over 13 years, she has helped countless small businesses understand and develop their content strategies and focus on a customer first approach.
On International Women’s Day in March 2024, Michelle hung up her crown so that she could be a Queen Maker to inspire and assist women over 40, rise up to be the Queens they were born to be.
At Excellence Takes Courage we will navigate together what it takes to achieve excellence, with courage.
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