TL:DR 📌
1. Three ways through a funk
2. BLEED launched in May and hit best seller on Amazon
3. Hiring Women in Tech with Toast
Funk You Up
It's been a wild first half of the year with joni and, on paper, everything is tracking. In fact, we're tracking better than predicted. I should be good right? Mid June, I fell into a bit of a funk and it was really confusing.
I posted about it on LinkedIn because I like challenging the narrative that you should only post your accolades and instead prefer to keep things real. In response, so many mentioned "being there" and could relate to this weird meh that can creep in even when everything is kinda fantastic.
Some mentioned languishing, which was a hot word over the pandemic although I didn't quite connect to its definition.
I've been reflecting on things these past few weeks and wanted to share what I found helpful in case you find yourself in the same funk one day.
1. Find the awe.
Sounds cliché but it really helps me in the moment. It's simple and can be done anywhere at any time. It forced me to slow down, take a hot minute and reflect. Full disclosure, it might feel forced to start but once we start paying attention, we realize there are sparks of joy in so much of our lives that we tend to rush through.
And there is also science behind it — we can literally help rewire our brains. Studies have shown that taking the time to find the awe "activates oxytocin release, which makes you feel more cooperative and connected" and "some kinds of awe deactivate the amygdala, which is a threat-related region of the brain.”
Getting out of the fight or flight mode really landed for me. If you are like me — prone to overwork, overthink and generally feel like you are never doing enough — your fight or flight mode is likely triggered often.
Somehow we haven't evolved enough to learn the difference between a business challenge and a lion that might eat us.
So I've been finding awe with my early morning coffee outside with the sun on my face. It reminds me that the world is bigger than my day-to-day. Or last week, while on a trip to Montreal, I 'awe walked' the city while listening to my go-to walking playlist and it was almost a spiritual experience — the power of music!
2. Give what you seek.
We often think the funk is caused by a lack of something but what if it's caused by an excess of something.
Excess of information.
Excess of doing.
Excess of sameness.
Excess of comfort zone.
Zig Ziglar said by helping others achieve their goals, we can achieve our own. I learned this first-hand when I felt lost in a sea of male leaders over 10 years ago as a woman in tech.
Disillusioned, I decided to create events for women in leadership for other women in leadership to build community but it clearly solved my own disillusionment too.
Reflecting on that, while in Montreal last week, I was surrounded by people who work tirelessly to give back to communities across Canada through their local Food Banks. I decided to ask about their stories and from that saw so much passion, determination and resilience.
It became contagious. It reminded me that giving is also an act of building what you seek.
2. Name and time box your funk
The world is a dumpster fire lately. We all need hugs.
So sometimes the funk is the result of us living through a time when we're supposed to continue as normal when "normal" keeps changing. It's hard to live in uncertainty and when we build businesses or the life we want, ambiguity seems to be par for the course. What if we called it what it is and just let ourselves feel the feels?
[Funk Name]: [Funk Feelings] + [Funk time box] + [Funk wrap-up]
[The growth funk]: [I'm building something that never existed before and doing it during very turbulent times without a safety net. The business is growing and with that comes more complicated problems. Sometimes I wonder if I'm the right person for this] + [I'm going to feel the feels this week, give myself grace and thank my growth funk for reminding me I'm human.] + [then I'm going to dust myself off and do something that inspires me that involves friends and nature].
Sometimes just calling it out removes it's grip.
Things I Love
- Last week I was invited to attend an all women's business event at HAVN. I love this concept. April, the amazing Toast founder, was tired of seeing the bros building businesses on ski hills or golf courses so decided that women could do that too — at places we wanted to be. It was a powerful three hours. If you are looking for work in tech or hiring in tech, highly recommend looking into Toast.
- BLEED hit best seller status in a few genres on Amazon, including Women's Health, at the end of May and we're now #6 in Menstruation. It was a pinch-me moment for sure - our stories are powerful 🔥
In solidarity 🖤
makeher is a labour of love because I believe that women deserve to feel good, build wealth and wellness, and create a life that inspires them. We do this by sharing our stories and challenging the status quo. I'm here for that.
What to expect? I'm the co-founder and CEO of joni, board member at FemTech Canada and mother of two teenage daughters. I send out just one email on the first day of each month about things I've learned, loved and tried through the lens of a 46 year old perimenopausal woman in a world built for men by men. Read prior months here.
If you don't feel this newsletter is for you, that's ok. Just know that I'll miss you.
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