2020 was a hell of a year for everyone. Every person I know went through some sort of change last year. Whether it was physical change with the health of their bodies during quarantine, emotional change with the loss of loved ones, psychological change with a focus on growth… 2020 hit everyone.
I feel that I changed in so many ways over the past year, and I felt called to share that with you all as I announce the changes I’m making with my brand.
My Struggle
I was chasing dreams of authorship, I had one book out that barely sold, and I felt shackled in my day job. Throughout the pandemic I was grateful to work in a place where I had reliable, consistent, income and wasn’t in direct contact with the public. But. Things did change in my work environment. Half of us got moved to another building as a security measure. (If someone gets sick, half the department can still work.)
But in that second building, things weren’t quite the same. I no longer had access to stairs. We were restricted to the first floor, so I lost that little bit of daily exercise. We were all placed in a big open conference room with low tables instead of the standing desks we were used to. As a compensation, we were provided a near-endless stream of snacks. You see where this is going?
By November, I was miserable. We lost a lot of people and were chronically short handed and overworked. I complained and requested desk risers at every opportunity. I cited that we had all gained weight, that my legs routinely fell asleep, that we were too busy to be able to stand up and move around unless we were going to the bathroom.
Our request for desk risers was denied.
That day, I cried in my car. I felt like I had no control. But... The next morning, I woke up and I decided that I would no longer be a victim. I would take my life into my own hands, take back the control I’d unwittingly given away.
My Growth
When I went to work the next day, I arrived early. I scrounged some cardboard boxes from various places in the room. And I made my own riser with the boxes. It was unstable, but it allowed me to stand. This only lasted a day or two before the boxes crumbled and my back started to hurt from it not being high enough.
But it was a start.
I began to find more ways to move. I drank more water, and each time I went to the bathroom at work I would do squats or wall push-ups or run in place. At home, I tried a few different exercise regimens before I found one that stuck. And I started to feel my energy align, I started to feel things turning around for myself.
The kicker?
After I decided it was no longer an option for me to be a victim, after I decided that I was open to ways to improve my situation and that I would stop accepting excuses from myself… I found out that our complaints at work had been pushed up the ladder.
We were being relocated to a place with standing desks and stairs access.
When I decided that my three-year-old could no longer be an excuse for me to sit around and do nothing, she began to take an interest in exercising with me.
And when I decided that I needed to find an alternative source of income so that I could do something more fulfilling with my life, a multi-million dollar mindset coach that I admire announced he was doing a free 7 day course on how to get started in coaching.
What had been missing before was my mindset, my intention, and my openness to change.
As for authorship, something else began to happen.
I had come to the realization not long before that my strength lies in the emotional depth and journeys of my characters, and that part of my goal in writing stories is to help to teach emotional lessons and provide catharsis for readers. With that in mind and a fresh set of notes from my developmental editor, I began to rewrite Order of the Hunt.
Let me tell you, fam. This book is going to be a monster compared to my debut novel. I’m only just over 1/3 way through and it’s already doubled in size to the original draft.
What I’m saying is…
I dove deep into mindset work to make radical changes in my life. And now, I want to help other creatives like me to do the same. Because after making these changes, my creative flow has been higher than it’s been in years. New story ideas have been grabbing me out of nowhere. I’ve had to start a new notebook just to write them down as they come, so that I can focus on them after I finish my current series.
Whether you’re a creative or not, I highly encourage you to look into mindset. You can find tons of free valuable information from popular coaches online or through podcasts. Or, if you’re interested in some individual coaching hit me up. If we’re a good match, we can work together. If not, I can direct you to some awesome resources depending on what your personal needs are.
There’s no way to go but up!
Jo Narayan 