Musings inspired by a close friend
This May I traveled to Oregon for a family wedding. It was great—first time back in 5 years, got out of our daily rhythm, and saw one of my best friends from home who came down from Seattle. (The same one I mentioned last newsletter!)
My friend asked what we were doing as self care, which made me pause. It’s not everyday someone asks that question.
She also said that it’s not part of Seattle culture to ask about people’s jobs, at least not when you first meet. (People of Seattle, hit reply to verify or correct! 😉 )
Honestly, that’s shocking to me.
Maybe because almost every single one of my interactions these days is with online entrepreneurs. Most of us live and breathe our work—for better or worse. Plus, normally we’re chatting because of and about our businesses.
And I believe in finding or creating meaningful work. (This is why I’m a fan of the Yellow Co community and entrepreneurship in general.)
So, I’m of two minds here.
Creating meaningful work
Yes, we’re more than what we do as a living. Yes, there’s more to life than work. Yes, I want to work to live, not live to work. (Which is so much easier said than committed to.)
BUT our work is what takes up the majority of our days and years. It’s what we’re actively *choosing* to do. We could be doing anything and yet we decided to do THIS. And it’s one of the ways we’re best able to have the impact we seek and the interactions that fill us up.
I could absolutely be better on the self care front. (Anyone with a baby or in a caregiving role, I KNOW you feel me here.) And I’ve had to make massive mindset shifts to see rest as productive. But to a certain extent, maybe doing meaningful work is self care if we want it to be.
Anyway, this got philosophical quickly. Let me know your thoughts on meaningful work, self care, and the line between them!
Toward purpose and progress,
Ashlee
PS: I’ve come to find that automation is definitely an act of self care, especially for solopreneurs! If you’ve been wanting to up your systems game, I’m a big fan of Dubsado*. New users can use my code (ashleesang) or link* for 20% off. It’s been a game-changing software for my business.
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This is an excerpt from Toward Purpose & Progress, my newsletter where I share business tips, good news, shoutouts to Founder Friends, and other juicy snippets. Subscribe here for more rants, reflections, and resources.
