In the month where I co-hosted my first open mic event for writers and poets, I am now fully back in work mode and looking forward to what this season will bring. So, here is my round-up for August as a coach, writer and human being. 😊
Did I relax and enjoy?
Yes, I did. But today, I’d like to thank the six other people who shared their writing on Sunday evening at our first open mic event at Afrori Books, Brighton.
Thank you to Jaz, Andrea, Pauline, Mally, Ray and Andrew, who all took to our improvised stage to share their short stories, poetry, extracts from their manuscripts and published books in front of a small but hugely appreciative and appreciated audience. I think we had around twenty/ twenty-five people in the end.
But most of all, I’d like to thank my partner in crime, Oliviyah Bain, who is shown in the picture. It was great working with you.
What a fantastic start to what I hope will become a regular fixture in our diaries.
(Pictures, courtesy of @Izzytaylor)
Relax and enjoy
Is what I will tell myself in the lead-up to our Open Mic event on Sunday, 22nd September. I will repeat this phrase as I introduce our event and kick things off with my story – Knife on a Bus. I have been practising daily for the past week, so what could go wrong?
Well, probably quite a lot; you can never tell with last-minute cancellations, technology issues or last-minute nerves. You cannot account for everything. Still, one thing I can strive for is to take a breath, decide to relax and enjoy whatever happens.
An attitude that stems from a piece of advice I was offered by a colleague many years ago after we had delivered our first career development workshop. It has always stuck with me because it is a great reminder to be fully present in the moment so you can dance gracefully with a situation and flow with it.
Learning to pace myself at sixty
Recently, I heard on Radio 4 that ageing is not a gradual process – we do not age along a gentle incline. Instead, it seems we age in fits and starts, and from what I can remember, the two critical ages are 40 and then 60.
At forty, as the mother of an eighteen-month-old, I did not have the time or energy to worry about ageing. At fifty, I was two years into grieving after the death of my mum, but now, at the age of sixty, I must confess I am feeling it in a way that I haven’t before.
These days, I need to pace myself and allow enough space in my diary to get things done – I can no longer throw tons of energy at something for prolonged periods. I am fortunate; I run my own business. It is easier for me to control and manage my diary. Generally, I can avoid juggling too many different projects at a time and focus on the one thing in front of me.
I fully embrace the fact that I do not have the same energy levels as I did when I was younger. I can be firm and not allow others to shoehorn activities/events into my day.
Now, more than ever, I can appreciate the Korean proverb:
Do not draw your sword to kill a fly.
Or, for those who prefer more corporate phrasing, work smarter, not harder.
And that is what I plan to do moving forward. Get older and work with it; who knows, I might even enjoy it 😊.
To read more click Managing your Energy
Until next time
