A summer break

I thought and thought about how to start this email, and finally decided I’d start with the simple truth: I need a break.

I need time to sit with all of my thoughts and ideas, and sit with the feedback you so kindly shared with me in the survey I recently sent out.

And I need time to not think about work at all.

My Stronger Month by Month intention for June was to consume mindfully*, and I’ve seen a big difference as I’ve scaled back in what, when, and how much I’m taking in (through Instagram, emails, and blogs).

So my plan is to pull back even further for the next month or two.

I’ll still share a weekly Stronger Month by Month post on Instagram each Monday*, to help those of you who’ve been following along and using the process to make real, sustainable change happen in your life—and to keep me accountable. This project has been so meaningful for me, and I want to keep the momentum going.

I’ll also spend some time catching up on a backlog of emails; if you’re waiting for a reply from me, thank you for your patience!

And in the next few days, I'm going to be sharing a couple of fun projects launched by creative friends—that's going down on Instagram.

But other than that, I’m not planning to be online very much at all.

I’m not entirely sure when I’ll be back, but it should be sometime in August…maybe September, depending on how things go.

I don’t want to give myself a firm deadline, because if I do, I’ll only make myself nervous. Instead, I want to take the time to stretch out, to look through all my notes and ideas, to sit on the porch and stare at the sky and daydream. I want to be intentional about how I spend this time, but I don’t want to feel pressured.

I wrote and deleted a bunch of explanations about what I think this break will do for me. Because really, I want to go into it open to what might happen rather than trying to follow a narrow path. So instead, I’ll end with this:

I want to thank you for being here, and for always supporting me in whatever I do.

You are all kind, thoughtful, encouraging, and endlessly inspiring, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have you to share honestly with, ask opinions of, debate ideas with, and of course, help when I can.

I’ll miss writing to you, but I also know that (cliche as it may be), absence makes the heart grow fonder. I hope that will be true for both of us.

Sending so much love your way!
Erica


*Stronger Month by Month is totally free, and I’d love to have you join in. The idea is to pick a single change or idea to focus on for one month, and to check in every week on Instagram. If this sounds like exactly what you need, you can learn more and download a free guide to help you get started right here!

So this email has been about me needing a break, but that might not be what you need.

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Erica Midkiff