It is Okay to Pause Your Feelings

It’s been 5 months since I officially started quarantining in my upstate home. My entire industry has been turned upside down and everything I once knew no longer applies to the current situation I am living.

I feel lost, confused, frustrated, and yet determined to find my next move.

I’ve been studying market movements, watching the rise of Tik Tok and the new wave of content creators. I’m seeing that there are more and more ways to put yourself out there, get your name known, introduce a new product, and yet I still feel stifled. Why? Why do I continue defaulting to what I know? How come the fear of trying something new is overcoming my yesterday and today? I used to thrive in these situations, I advise my students to take the leap, and today I can’t bring myself to change my mindset or try something different. I’m scared, intimated that I won’t succeed, or that I’ll fail, and I’ll be worse off than I was before.

In a situation of extreme uncertainty I tend to fall back on what I am certain about. I know I’m great at event planning, teaching, public relations, but neither one of those options are bringing me the satisfaction or revenue I need to move to the next stage of my life. I know this is a big test, a test of perseverance, grit, and of course the test of trying something you’ve never done before and being okay with failing.

Why is it that when I need to learn a new skill, pivot or change, that this scares me? How come I cannot see this as a new opportunity? Why am I choosing to hide or deny my capabilities out of fear?

Because reinventing yourself is hard.

Finding a new creative outlet, or a new job, or seizing a new opportunity is hard. It means having to do something you’ve never done before. It means pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, and trusting yourself and the universe that you’re in the right direction.

I needed to write this blog post because I needed to remind myself that it is okay to have these feelings and I can’t expect to have only good days.

It is okay to pause and feel your feelings and for today that is enough.