What I have learnt since my Substack maiden voyage
Building momentum with my writing
“It can be a bit antisocial Mum” were the words of my 17 year old when he reflected on my request earlier that day, for my family to please stop talking to me while I finished the last 40 pages of my current read.
While I can read with people talking around me, I can not read and engage meaningfully in the conversation. I was trying to finish What's Your Type?: The Strange History of Myers-Briggs and the Birth of Personality Testing", by
Merve Emre
.
We were spending time together during a family holiday. It was day five or six into our seven days of relaxation, and we’d just been swimming in Lake Eildon. It was time to dry off, enjoy the sunshine and get some Vitamin D.
As my husband and sons watched and commented on the various watercraft around us, I was keen to embrace my reading ‘ticket window’ because sometimes I like to read instead of talk. I enjoy their company, but I do not always feel like being an active participant in the conversation. And those last 40 pages were calling me . . .
I’d love your comments about this anti social reading confession and to know more about your reading habits.
Building Momentum with my Writing
Returning to Writing Momentum with
this week I’ve been reflecting on my writing goals for the year. The ritual of setting goals is my natural habitat. My sister named this as my ‘super power’ when she and her husband asked me to be present at the birth of their first child.We’d love you to be our support person because you’re a very task focused person.
My niece is a lawyer and turns 26 this year. I’ve set and achieved many goals since her safe entry into the world, but deciding on my writing goals feels counterintuitive, because there is no end goal.
And that’s what makes writing here such an enjoyable activity. The release of the expectation that I am somehow trying to achieve something or reach some higher plane. Sure, I have topics that I want to explore and I’ve made a commitment to paid subscribers to provide a reference list with ambivert resources and facilitate a chat about ambiverts and books, but it feels much lighter than the more commercial writing I’m so used to.
I’ve looked back over my previous Substack posts as a way to remember why I started and what I’ve learned about my writing process along the way. Please read on as I share my Substack journey and what I’ve learnt about myself by dedicating a creative space to think, write and process my emotions.
My Substack post archive
Browsing my Substack archive reminded me of the apprehension I experienced during the process of writing my first Substack post. It was August 2023, at a time when I wondered if there was a risk associated with stepping outside of my normal writing routine.
This was a writing routine I had relied on for over 12 years. One that involved writing regular blogs on my company website, as well as the monthly ritual of crafting a thoughtful email newsletter to 1800+ email subscribers and 4000+ followers who enjoy my insights about LinkedIn for Australian professionals.
This writing routine had become comfortable and predictable. And while it remains an effective way to attract new clients and referrals to my business, Think Bespoke, and is very useful for readers who want to learn how to use LinkedIn better, I was starting to feel like important parts of me were being left unspoken.
My true self, KPH, is the voice who needed more space to express herself as a way to process life’s events and help my feelings inform a more mindful approach to walking gently on this precious earth.
I wanted more of me on the page.
And books . . . my love of books, especially non fiction books and insights from thinkers including
, , Cal Newport and Jenn Granneman, had crept into these work-related updates - but it felt like an afterthought.Substack maiden voyage
My first Substack post was titled Maiden Voyage and shares the story of when the words ‘Confession of an Ambivert’ arrived.
I enjoyed re-reading how I expressed my intention for writing with the following words.
Confess the stress of too much peopling.
Share how you’ve learnt to manage these moments.
Embrace your
desireneed to withdraw, rest, read and think.Share the spaciousness of profound thoughts.
Open yourself up to like-minded souls. You are not alone.
Share what you’re learning about ambiverts, introverts and HSP.
Celebrate the gifts of being versus doing.
Setting intentions versus setting goals feels more relevant for my writing.
And so the therapy element of my writing practice now reveals itself to me.
Perhaps it was these intentions that had been calling me all along, and I had confused it with a need to set writing goals because the task focused version of me, my Doer voice, likes me to set goals.
I have a name for my Doer voice. I call her Tina, and I may introduce her, and a few of my other internal family members1, in future updates.
Wanting my worlds to collide & the non linear path
In my May 2024 update I had a ‘Veruka Salt’ moment. A tantrum of sorts, feeling impatient about wanting my worlds to collide.
This need for speed led me down a number of paths I’ve stopped visiting for the time being. I mention these in my July 2024 update, when I was still working on my manuscript and hosting the occasional Inklings catch up.
Since joining
’s Writing Momentum, the Inklings catch ups are on pause and I’ve pulled the manuscript apart and started sharing my ‘darlings’ in these updates. Hence the forewarning about Tina . .
What I have learnt since my Substack maiden voyage
Reflecting on my writing process since launching my first Substack post in August 2023, has provided the balm I needed to remember that the love project is the project2.
It’s helped me appreciate what I’ve learnt about myself by dedicating a creative space to think, write and process my emotions. Here’s some of the things I’ve discovered about myself along the way.
I enjoy writing like no one is watching, and then editing.
It’s okay to share thoughts out aloud.
Books are fun to talk about and discuss with fellow readers on Substack, and I’ve set up threads in my Chat for paid subscribers.
I can write at any time of the day if I combine journaling and writing. Thank you to
for the notebook tips in 7 questions I ask myself and thank you to for my weekly structured journaling process.- ’s coaching, Writing Momentum and Writing Retreats have been a key part of nurturing my true voice, KPH and creating the accountability to develop my creative writing process.
Following, subscribing to and reading fellow Substack writers is inspiring and time much better spent than scrolling Instagram or binge watching Netflix.
Rather than buy new books I’m borrowing more books from my local library, listening to books on Borrowbox (also free from the library) and finding treasures in second hand book shops. The money I’ve saved on purchasing new books has been invested in a 12 month Substack subscription to
’s newsletter - This is Precious.
With love and gratitude,
KPH
I acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which I live and pay my respects to Indigenous Elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty has never been ceded. It always was and always will be, Aboriginal land.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a psychotherapy model that views the mind as made up of multiple sub-personalities, or "parts". I enjoyed a creative process during the pandemic to explore different parts of myself. Learn more here about IFS.
These words were first shared with me by Anna Lamb, who is my co-host for Healing through Books.
Thanks for the shoutout Karen! It's been so lovely to read your work, get to know you, have a laugh and more! See you next week at your next retreat!