If you have not been following along, at The Cowe, we took time for ourselves in May to reset and introduce something back into our lives again that has been neglected because of life getting in the way. If you missed our OG post about how to finally start your backburner project and begin again, feel instant inspo by clicking here.
I kicked us off on week one with re-introducing consistent therapy into my life, Pilar followed with learning again via Skillshare and Cleo finished us off with her desire to bring back reading physical books. Click here to see us talk through our reasonings.
We each break down our major takeaways after one month of consistency below.
The Value of Therapy
The thing about therapy is that it’s not a ‘make an appointment and you’re healed’ type thing, in fact, finding the right therapist for you can be the biggest struggle and a huge reason people give up before they’ve even started. Though therapy has been a true saving grace for me, it has also been very tough to find the right person, so when I began on this therapy journey again I was nervous. Thankfully after some research and a great recommendation, I was able to find someone who is helping me in ways I haven’t been able to help myself and for that I am grateful. To begin again can be daunting, embarrassing, stressful, if you choose for it to be. Or, if we reframe and come from a place of gratitude, having the chance to begin again is a gift that gives in ways we have yet to discover.
The Value of Unconventional Learning
“As I said, I legit do not remember the last time I followed a module, just been learning as I go, baby! I was like I need a lesson but not the type you learn in high school which led me to create an account on Skillshare. I have been seeing this platform all over the place, so I started off by reading this blog post ranking the top 20 classes of 2020 and went from there. I landed on three classes to fill three voids if you will.
The Creative Toolkit: 6 Techniques to Spark Original Ideas
I’ve been having to come up with a lot of creative ideas lately and being in the current Ontario climate, I’m finding myself running out of “big ideas”. This course is super chill and high energy to refresh your mindset as teacher, Esteban Gast breaks down the science of creativity and shares how the right systems and processes can create better ideas. So refreshing hearing a fresh face and unfamiliar mindset share what works across creative outlets.
Writing for Inner Calm: A Mindset, Methods, and Daily Exercises for All
I’m a casual and creative writer so I wanted some direction when taking pen to paper after the end of a stressful day/week/month. Guide, Dani Shapiro shares what it means to cultivate the life of a writer. She appeals to all levels whether you’re looking for a creative outlet (me!) or looking to publish a novel in the near future. Dani encourages a sustainable relationship with writing which is more of what I seek because my consistency game when journalling is kind of weak. She breaks down the mindset, the craft and the practices. Definitely worth checking it out!
YouTube Success: Script, Shoot + Edit with MKBHD
I legit used to have a YouTube channel and I’m fascinated with production and creating raw content. I tuned into this lesson because it’s always interesting to hear other people’s POV when creating YouTube content and production planning for what appears to be natural. Marques aka MKBHD shares how to create engaging video content through sharing your passion and opinions. He also has 13M subs on YouTube so definitely inspiring to hear how he started and how he continues to cultivate his audiences across platforms.
The best part about Skillshare is that there is a 7-day trial so you can play around with the platform before committing to an annual membership which is still pretty affordable considering the access you have to such a variety of lessons! K. I’m done my rant now!”
The Value of Reading Books (Physically)
“This month, I went back to reading actual books for my “beginning again” and WHEW has it been a challenge. One of the truest things I’ve ever heard is that if you don’t use it, you lose it — and my reading muscle hasn’t been flexed in a long time. I used to be able to fly through a book and dive into it with my whole mind, but I’m finding it hard to not get sleepy when I read. BUT, I’m taking a page out of Pilar’s book and starting to time block just 30 minutes a day for dedicated reading and I’m finding that helps. It breaks up the monotony of my day and it’s easier to digest the information with a tiny small goal like this. Slow and steady wins the race, so I’m trying not to be too hard on myself. I encourage you to do the same, Cowes!”
I hope you enjoyed this journey throughout May. What are you beginning again? Let us know by tagging me here.
xx
Coco