Every year, on my newsletter, I write a reflection on joy during December. This year, I decided to shake it up with a fun Q&A instead. Enjoy!
What was the best advice you have ever received?
This year, the best advice I’ve heard was “Bet on yourself.”
It wasn’t actually said to me. It was given by my friend’s husband when she was deciding whether to take the safe and sure path or the riskier one with higher returns. She was being given a pretty good offer if she took the safer path but the risky one meant she had to put her work up for auction which could result in a bid lower than what was already on the table. Her husband said these words. She followed his advice, did the auction and ended up with significantly more than what was initially given to her.
But my all-time favorite advice is: “Would you rather give your energy to creativity or to fear?”
Whenever I catch myself worrying, remembering these words and intentionally shifting my attention to finding creative solutions or even finding ways to calmly accept the situation really help. Sometimes it takes a lot of encouragement by my inner coach and sometimes it takes just a few deep breaths. But this is game-changing advice that I always take with me.
What do you love most about this season in your life?
What I love most about this season in my life is (weirdly enough) commitment.
Commitment (like in marriage or a contract) is usually associated with a ball and chain, with a lack of freedom, with being stifling and limiting.
For me, commitment actually feels liberating. Because I have made a commitment to this path of entrepreneurship, self-growth, and loving service, I’m no longer wasting my energy on second-guessing, questioning or looking everywhere for answers.
I also love that I can use these words to describe this season in my life: slow, simple, and easy. (Again, I make a commitment to these words with the choices that I make). And I am so grateful for it every day.
When did you experience a magical moment in your life, when you were at the right place, at the right time?
This October, I was listening to Sam Sotto Yambao give her workshop on publishing during our Write Away retreat. I idly glanced outside the window and there was a rainbow.
What was so magical was that the rainbow was my symbol for this year’s Sunday Night Journal.
I was also at my favorite place in Baguio, during Write Away, with an amazing and open-hearted group of women. The last time we did the retreat was in 2019 so this was an extra special year.
But that’s not all! We had Sam pause the workshop so everyone could rush to the window to witness the magic. And then, another rainbow joined the first one.
That moment: it felt like a blessing.
