Audrey JoAnn - Page 2 of 30 - Writer ● Adventurer ● Storyteller

IT’S NOT YOUR JOB TO MAKE EVERYONE ELSE COMFORTABLE

November 15, 2018

I’ve been toying with writing about this for a while because I struggle with it all the time, but I still don’t have all the answers. “People pleaser” is a term that’s thrown around a lot. It can be a natural posture or learned. For me, I think it was learned. But I have been practicing the pursuit of not needing to make everyone else comfortable and happy, and it’s been really freeing. And really, really hard.

I’ve always needed everyone around me to feel at ease. If a friend was mad at me in high school, I would be devastated. My mind would implode as I tried to make things right and just be on their good side again. I’d apologize and then tiptoe around their feelings to make sure I never made anyone mad again. (Which, obviously with friendships amongst adolescence and puberty and SO MANY FEELINGS, did not last.)

DEALING WITH CRITICAL FEEDBACK GRACEFULLY

November 8, 2018

As a writer, it’s taken me a long time to not be offended if something I work on isn’t what a client envisioned. I pour my energy and heart into everything I write because this is my absolute dream job, getting to put together interesting content for all kinds of businesses. But just because something I turn in isn’t exactly what a client had in mind, doesn’t mean I didn’t do a good job or that they are directly insulting my skill-set.

Whether you’re a creator, too, or work in a more corporate setting, we all receive feedback, positive and critical, throughout our careers. Nobody is an absolute perfect employee who gets it right every single time. And if you have a hard time hearing it, work is probably pretty miserable. I really, really get it. I spent a lot of time getting my feelings hurt at jobs when I’d receive even the mildest feedback. Because I’m a sensitive person, I took it personally every time and started to figure certain people had it out for me.

HOW TO BECOME A FREELANCER

October 11, 2018

I’ve got to be honest. I haven’t known what to write about lately. In my Google Drive, I have a long list of blog post ideas and topics. But I’m getting married in 10 days, and it felt weird to write about sleep habits or career development or relationship challenges when I’m living in a vacuum that is all things BIG DAY. My life right now is guest counts, final invoices, printing hashtag signs, and checking my weather app 27 times a day. (Fingers crossed for anything below 78 degrees in a week and a half.)

I never thought I would be a stressed-out wedding countdown kind of girl, but here we are. Identity crisis for one, please. So, that’s precisely why I’m writing about something other than wedding things. While I am so thrilled for the day itself and the many fun activities surrounding it, everything lately has revolved around planning. I need to think about something else.

SNOOZING IS EVIL & HERE’S WHY

September 27, 2018

One of my worst bad habits is snoozing my alarm when it goes off every morning. John and I both do it, and usually our alarms aren’t synced, so his goes off, then a few minutes later mine goes off, and then his again a couple minutes later, then mine, then his, etc., etc. If I weren’t so busy trying to squeeze in a few more minutes of sleep, I’d probably be annoyed by the influx of interruptions every morning.

Instead, we take turns tapping the Snooze button on each of our iPhones and rolling over for just a few more minutes of shuteye. And then a few more. And then a few more. It is such a part of my wakeup routine that I really don’t think twice about it most days.

But earlier this week, after hitting Snooze for the first time Tuesday morning (I usually partake in 3 to 4 snoozes a day), a thought came to me. Is snoozing for a half hour or more every day affecting my health? The question was enough to pique my interest, but alas, as the true snoozer I am, I fell back asleep regardless of my curiosity.