When I decided to put in my two weeks at work, I felt like a failure even though I know I’m not.
This business has been more successful than ever since I became manager, but I had to do what was right for me.
Still, there was this pervasive feeling that I had failed and that things were not going according to “my plan.”
But something good happens when life goes “wrong.”
Space opens up.
And I opened up to that space.
I love learning, and I love technology.
Something I used to do a year or so ago was scan
producthunt.com for new, free software that entrepreneurs had made.
I’ve been giving myself permission to do this again.
I’ve been going to a section of the site that lets you view the most-voted-for products of each month. I did this for every month going back to December 2020.
What I discovered is that there are some pretty amazing creations–and creators–out there.
And then I came across an app name
Geneva that I realized might be the answer for a community dilemma I’ve been having with The Mental Health Update.
I shut down the Members sections of The Mental Health Update a month or so ago because I didn’t feel I was providing enough value for my paying subscribers.
I tried out various communities with them, and each app was clunky and hard to get people to use on a regular basis.
Geneva is the first app I’ve found that creates community in a way that is perfect for our modern, digital age and for the way we interact in a digital-first world.
I never would have found this had I not created the space for curiosity.
Every night, I reflect (OK, almost every night) by typing in a journal, and I realized carving out curiosity space has been absolutely life-changing–and life–invigorating.
That’s why I’m sharing it with you.
This is how you can carve out curiosity space in your life:
- Find pockets of free time of at least 30 minutes.
- If you can’t find that time–create that time. It’s important.
- Let go of any judgments or assumptions you have about your life during this time–and just let yourself relax and explore.
- Search and notice as much as you can. Whether you’re exploring the Internet or exploring your neighborhood during a walk around town, just be open to whatever you see.
- Being open to everything will help your brain form connections and likely solve problems you’ve been having. A lot of research has been done around how light activity provides just enough stimulus to occupy your attention but not too much to block creative thinking. This is why so many great ideas happen while you’re taking a shower!
- Rinse and repeat (Bad shower joke…)
Seriously, try this at least once this week and see what happens.
Because things will go wrong in your life.
You will have to navigate stressful times.
That’s just reality.
But you always get to choose how you respond.
Starting today, I hope you’ll choose to allow more curiosity in your life.
That one thing you haven’t yet noticed might be the one thing that changes your life for the better.
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