My weekly emails are for you if you want a transformational SHOT OF POSITIVITY that makes you think, gets you laughing, and sparks a positive change. Start each week inspired.
It's time for a "Do-Over." 🔄
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Reader I made it past Quitters' Day. How about you? The second Friday in January is called Quitters' Day because a quarter of us have already abandoned our New Year's resolutions. However, the good news is you are allowed to hit the reset button and get a do-over.{ { subscriber.first_name }}, I know your 'Polly Perfect' is trying to tell you otherwise, but ignore her. If you have a dream you are unleashing for yourself in 2026, you need to know that there isn't one straight path you have to follow to achieve it. In fact, according to renowned creativity author, Steven Pressfield, the more deeply you care about a pursuit, the more true it is to your being, the more resistance your internal narrator will generate. On the ride home from St. Louis after Christmas, I read Steven's book, The War of Art. I knew immediately that I wanted to share it with you. So here are a few of his words that captured my attention: The more you love your art/calling/enterprise, the more important its accomplishment is to the evolution of your soul, the more you will fear it, and the more resistance you will experience facing it.
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It uses fear of rejection to paralyze us and prevent us, if not from doing our work, then from exposing it to public evaluation.
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Never forget that Resistance is using criticism against you on a far more diabolical level.
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Resistance has its seat in the ego. The self wishes to create, to evolve. The ego likes things just the way they are.
Reader, pursuing that dream or making that change is real work. It requires effort. It requires persistence. And it requires you to accept that that path will include mistakes and imperfections. On last week's episode of The Story I'm Telling Myself Podcast, my guest Rachel Druckenmiller challenged listeners to identify and pursue what would otherwise become a boldness regret at the end of their lives. "What Dreams Are You Mutating?" is a powerful episode, and I encourage you to listen if you have already. (links below) It was so good that it spurred me to create a companion journal for the episode. It's a self-reflection guide with questions to help you name those suppressed dreams and the stories holding you back: ​TSITM journal.pdf​ (if you love it and want to receive future versions, ​you can sign up here​.) Telling yourself "I don't know how" or waiting for someone else to give you permission are all lies from your unreliable narrator. You are always ready to start, even when you don't know all the answers, because you are capable of figuring things out. Reader, whatever your dreams and goals for 2026, I believe in you. Borrow that belief and say yes to you. My goal is to continue to grow listenership and the impact of The Story I'm Telling Myself Podcast. A new episode records live every Tuesday at 11:30 New York time on YouTube, LinkedIn, or Facebook and then drops Thursdays on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and Audible. I would be so honored to have you listening, sharing, and engaging. I'm also looking for opportunities to share this message with teams and organizations facing change or seeking to elevate performance. I'd love an introduction. Cheers to you, Catch Up on 'the story i'm telling myself' podcastGive us a 5-star review and share an episode with a friend: Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music​ ​ |
​Rita Ernst, Positivity Influencer
My weekly emails are for you if you want a transformational SHOT OF POSITIVITY that makes you think, gets you laughing, and sparks a positive change. Start each week inspired.
Reader I couldn't believe I was hearing these words: There's an abnormal spot. I'm going to refer you to a specialist. I try not to panic. I think of my sister's cancer diagnosis. Is it my turn? I think of my Dad, subcumbing to cancer on his third battle. Is that my fate? I get in my car. Anxiety has me in it's grasp. Cancer is the drumbeat pounding in my head. Stop, I think. This isn't going to help. If it is cancer, stress won't help. You feel fine. You play pickleball five times a week....
Reader I am my harshest critic. Or, the Miranda that lives inside my head is. You might recognize her Her constant refrain is "still not good enough." Reader, I'm curious. What challenge of your worthiness does your inner critic play constantly in your head? Shame Rejection Unworthiness I have considered myself a strong, confident, and accomplished person throughout my life. Yet, the smallest glimmer of negative feedback can unleash the look from Miranda and I am in a spiral of shame,...
Reader I had a profound moment over Thanksgiving thanks to my eldest daughter. It's after 8 PM on Thanksgiving. I'm in the front passenger seat. My husband is driving, and my daughters are in the back seat. We are in an upscale neighborhood where we've been enjoying our Thanksgiving feast at a friend's home. Many homes are already lit with Christmas lights. We turn onto the main thoroughfare and there are four houses in a row with the same commercial style lights outlining the front of the...