Don’t Forget Your Grain of Salt
Advice is just a suggestion, not a rule
It’s easy to forget that advice is optional.
Some people speak with such conviction that what they say seems necessary.
Some books are well-researched, well-intentioned, and widely accepted…so they must be right, right?
Some advice is objectively terrible, but it gets repeated enough that it somehow sounds slightly reasonable.
Sometimes we are just so desperate for a change, for a solution, that we listen to any theory that gives even a sliver of hope.
But the world is not a controlled environment!
It is unpredictable and sometimes chaotic. Furthermore, our life stories are full of nuance (I cannot emphasize this enough) and secrets (so dramatic).
!! Because of this, sometimes advice isn’t applicable/relevant/helpful in the present moment even if it is, in general, good advice !!
We have to decide for ourselves what we should accept and what we should ignore.
We must, as they say, take it with a grain of salt.
All of this is my very over-the-top way of saying that I’m ignoring a lot of Substack advice for the time being. If you want a niche newsletter, this might not be for you.
My original plan was to learn about a new lifestyle each month (novelist, travel writing…) all in the name of creating an interesting life. I’ve been reporting on what I’ve learned as well as creating little projects (like my travel magazine 🤗). I had no idea what to expect when I started, and as I’ve progressed on this journey I’ve found a few plot holes.
I really loved travel writing, to the point where I don’t really want to move on just yet.
One month can pass quickly when trying to learn outside of a 9-5 job, which makes it difficult to really get a good grasp on anything.
Part of what makes life interesting, to me, is allowing creativity to wander. While having specific topics is nice for narrowing down what I want to write about, it’s not great for the days that I have unrelated ideas.
Rather than continue down a path that isn’t quite working, I’m going to make a few adjustments. My guiding light is still creating an interesting life, but I’m no longer restricting to one topic per month. I anticipate a heavy focus on travel, food, and creativity, but I’m also going to sprinkle in whatever fun topics present themselves (maybe as a series, maybe as a standalone article, no time constraints).
Also, if you have any topics you want me to cover, I’m open to suggestions!
I hope you’ll stick around for upcoming stories 💙