This was an excellent conversation, Sophia and Maddie! I have to give it another listen to pick up on all the topics discussed. Although I will say Maddie that you are probably further along in the book now! I briefly derailed...
Thank you to both of you for speaking so honestly and giving your learnings and experience so generously. Hard times can be such merciless teachers. It makes it easier to stomach to not do it alone. Thank you for keeping me company :)
It's my pleasure, Ale—I think the natural inclination when you're suffering is to go inward, and Maddie is doing an amazing job of transforming that shared pain into a community. Glad to have you around!
Sophia, what an *enormous* pleasure to speak with you! Thank you so much for creating the space for this conversation.
It's been so interesting to write about the topics of change, uncertainty and transition over the last year—but it's extra-impactful to talk with other people (like you!) about how these topics have manifested in their lives. Thank you for offering such beautiful, personal reflections on all of the above!
Maddie, thank you for lending your voice to The Write-Life Balance 💕 I admire your courage to write so openly about these emotionally-triggering topics. It took me many years to follow your example, and I'm so glad we crossed paths in the Substack universe.
Sophia and Maddie... thank you! I SOOO needed to hear this right now, as my own stuff is feeling super uncertain and I'm constantly battling inner turmoil with money, life, aging parents... I can go on and on. Maddie, I can totally relate your mom's situation with my parents. I will be checking out your Substack and I love the idea of experimentation.
Whenever I feel like I'm losing control (not that I even have control to begin with, but my brain defaults to believing that I have control!), I treat things as an experiment and see how I respond to certain situations. I write these moments down in my journal and oddly, it gives me some sense of control and makes me feel better. But mostly, these moments teach me that no matter what, things will be okay. I've made it this far, right? :)
So glad it was helpful, Claire! I think for children of immigrant parents, some of this inner turmoil goes beyond what we can perceive—we inherit the experiences of our ancestors and there are documented moments in history in which we know they battled the same uncertainty between life and death. Journaling and writing is definitely a tool to let go of some of those conflicts, and absolutely: you have made it this far, and you can handle so much more than your mind believes you can.
Claire, I'm sending you *so* much strength as you navigate these complex challenges. I very much hope you find some insights that help uncertainty feel a bit less hard—and also, full permission to feel all the difficult feelings that come along with these challenges. Big hugs. ❤️
I really appreciate hearing your insights on control (and the lack thereof), and the ways you use journaling to find relief. I plan to try this out myself!
Thank you Maddie, I appreciate the support and your wisdom and insight. Journaling has been a godsend, but I realize not a lot of people do it b/c you don't reap the benefits right away. It's not a "hack" or a "tips and tricks" kind of solution. I started journaling in 2017 and didn't even realize that it was helping me until probably a year later. Then, I started tweaking WHAT I was writing (at first, it was just a "what I did each day", but then morphed into "here's what I was thinking and maybe this is why"), and it continues to evolve every day. One thing I do keep consistent is gratitude. I always jot down one thing that I am grateful for, no matter what happens in the day. :)
Great interview and covered so many interesting topics and advice. I so appreciate when people are able to open up with their experience in order to help others. Thank you Maddie and Sophie!
This was an excellent conversation, Sophia and Maddie! I have to give it another listen to pick up on all the topics discussed. Although I will say Maddie that you are probably further along in the book now! I briefly derailed...
Thank you so much, Chris!! And just as importantly, what a relief that I'm not falling hopelessly behind you in book club. 😂
Well fortunately a 2-person book club is pretty low stakes so you are fine! Thankfully there are no discussion questions....there aren't, right?
Thanks for listening, Chris! I'd offer to join book club but I'm a speed reader and don't want to inflict any pressure 🙈
That might be a problem, at least for me 😂. I'm a very slow reader!
Open invitation to join the group text, as long as you avoid any slow-reader shaming 😅
😅
Thank you to both of you for speaking so honestly and giving your learnings and experience so generously. Hard times can be such merciless teachers. It makes it easier to stomach to not do it alone. Thank you for keeping me company :)
It's my pleasure, Ale—I think the natural inclination when you're suffering is to go inward, and Maddie is doing an amazing job of transforming that shared pain into a community. Glad to have you around!
My heart swelled reading your comment, Ale. I completely agree with Sophia's comment below: it's our pleasure, truly!
Sophia, what an *enormous* pleasure to speak with you! Thank you so much for creating the space for this conversation.
It's been so interesting to write about the topics of change, uncertainty and transition over the last year—but it's extra-impactful to talk with other people (like you!) about how these topics have manifested in their lives. Thank you for offering such beautiful, personal reflections on all of the above!
Maddie, thank you for lending your voice to The Write-Life Balance 💕 I admire your courage to write so openly about these emotionally-triggering topics. It took me many years to follow your example, and I'm so glad we crossed paths in the Substack universe.
Sophia and Maddie... thank you! I SOOO needed to hear this right now, as my own stuff is feeling super uncertain and I'm constantly battling inner turmoil with money, life, aging parents... I can go on and on. Maddie, I can totally relate your mom's situation with my parents. I will be checking out your Substack and I love the idea of experimentation.
Whenever I feel like I'm losing control (not that I even have control to begin with, but my brain defaults to believing that I have control!), I treat things as an experiment and see how I respond to certain situations. I write these moments down in my journal and oddly, it gives me some sense of control and makes me feel better. But mostly, these moments teach me that no matter what, things will be okay. I've made it this far, right? :)
So glad it was helpful, Claire! I think for children of immigrant parents, some of this inner turmoil goes beyond what we can perceive—we inherit the experiences of our ancestors and there are documented moments in history in which we know they battled the same uncertainty between life and death. Journaling and writing is definitely a tool to let go of some of those conflicts, and absolutely: you have made it this far, and you can handle so much more than your mind believes you can.
You're right, I think life circumstances and the situation we're born into is also a huge factor in all of this! I didn't even think about that.
Claire, I'm sending you *so* much strength as you navigate these complex challenges. I very much hope you find some insights that help uncertainty feel a bit less hard—and also, full permission to feel all the difficult feelings that come along with these challenges. Big hugs. ❤️
I really appreciate hearing your insights on control (and the lack thereof), and the ways you use journaling to find relief. I plan to try this out myself!
Thank you Maddie, I appreciate the support and your wisdom and insight. Journaling has been a godsend, but I realize not a lot of people do it b/c you don't reap the benefits right away. It's not a "hack" or a "tips and tricks" kind of solution. I started journaling in 2017 and didn't even realize that it was helping me until probably a year later. Then, I started tweaking WHAT I was writing (at first, it was just a "what I did each day", but then morphed into "here's what I was thinking and maybe this is why"), and it continues to evolve every day. One thing I do keep consistent is gratitude. I always jot down one thing that I am grateful for, no matter what happens in the day. :)
What a lovely practice! And isn’t it true that the most useful tools don’t always show immediate cause/effect links.
Great interview and covered so many interesting topics and advice. I so appreciate when people are able to open up with their experience in order to help others. Thank you Maddie and Sophie!
Thanks, Mika! I hope you continue writing about your own unexpected life transitions as well.
^ Ditto what Sophia said, Mika! I'm so happy to hear that this conversation was valuable to you.