MS12: Happy New Year, and Goodbyes
I think a lot of creative advice encourages the ability to try new things without expectation. I’ve always struggled with this, mostly because I feel like I’m a bit laser-focused on stakes, potential, and “what it will all mean.”
This newsletter was an attempt to get away from all that, but ironically, it kind of fell in there regardless.
I was interested by Substack’s potential as a platform, but it fell into the similar type of pattern (for me) as Patreon and TinyLetter before it. I feel pressured to put out work for the purposes of consistency, and when the well of easily-accessible topics dries up, I struggle to have things feel authentic and genuine, instead of forced.
However, it isn’t all gloom.
I think another part of creative advice encourages leaving things behind, and embracing failure when it comes as a part of personal growth. I’ve very much become okay with leaving this newsletter behind in order to perhaps focus my content and efforts somewhere else.
While I’d normally think “okay, yeah, gonna focus on X writing or Y project” I think it’s probably time to do the toughest thing of all: admit that I need to learn how to recover from burnout, and learn how to take better care of myself.
Over the years, that’s been the toughest thing of all.
Thanks for all the support with this newsletter, and I hope it at least got you thinking about some topics in a different way. Whether it’ll be revived or not remains to be seen, but for now, I’m taking it as a good sign that I’m not thinking too hard about it.
Hope you all have a great 2021, and create things you’re proud of.
— M