The Wisdom I Wish Others Knew: The Answer Is Already Inside You

What I learned from the We Can Do Hard Things podcast

I’m a die-hard fan of the We Can Do Hard Things podcast. It launched when I was at my lowest point during the pandemic. It felt like I was gathering up pieces of myself scattered across the house and trying to glue them back together. I was showing up in my life angry and resentful.

I rolled the word “selfish” around in my mouth and knew it fit me.

Which was crazy because I was giving everything of myself to my family. I was cooking, cleaning, educating, planning outdoor adventures, crafts….

You get the picture.

I still regret homeschooling wasn’t the blissful experience I imagined it could be. I went from working for a small nonprofit that I loved to being a stay at home mom completely isolated with my family.

I threw myself all in.

And I because of that…I threw my self out.

I was selfish because whatever was left of me, of who I thought I was, was damned pissed about being trapped.

I quit my job before the pandemic gained traction because deep-down something told me I had to get out now. My plan was thin; I envisioned nurturing community through writing. I believed that if I project-managed my creative life the way I did my work life — I might make something of myself.

Then a multitude of factors necessitated I stay home with my then kindergartner and third grader for almost two years. I became teacher-mom.

I wrote in journals in fits and starts, read books like they were life rafts, but my deeper creative work languished.

There was a turning point when I walked out of the house and stayed the night at a hotel and cried myself empty.

Then I began making these tiny choices and slowly began returning to myself. I resumed running, took up meditating, and moved my desk to a place that was more inviting.

And I started listening to that darn podcast, We Can Do Hard Things.

The gals who run the show (Glennan Doyle, her sister Amanda, and her wife Abby) are leading the way for the rest of us fumblers. I don’t listen to every episode, but their running thread resonates: we all know, deep down, the next right thing we need to do. We must lean into what feels warm to us, and it will always be the thing that’s best for us. Too often we ask others to give us permission to lead the lives we know are right for us.

The answers you need are already inside of you. Trust them.

And if your curious, check out their podcast…

Or read something else I’ve written!