Once I started this blog, I began spiraling into all the expectations that may come from it.

Do I need to post on scheduled basis? Do I need to create a content calendar? How will I know if people are reading and connecting with what I’m sharing? What are my friends and colleagues going to think of me now? Will it affect my relationships? I quickly jumped into the red zone.

Then a dear friend who knows the real JSB reminded me that this was part of what I’m working on, she said, “leave the judgement and mind swirl in the dumpster where it belongs.”

She was right.

Letting go is part of my personal development (sounds amazing and scary, right?). I’ve learned that when I’m stressed, behavioral tendencies for my high-risk zones emerge – skeptical, cautious, and excitable (credit: Hogan Assessment). When that happens, I try to regain control and dig my heels in.

These behaviors have been formed by my pivotal life experiences – becoming a young mom (feeling like I would become a statistic), not completing my degree until later in life (feeling lesser than at work) , or daily things like being a female leader in the workplace (feeling like I had to earn/prove my seat at the table).

My story is one of an overcomer; I take care of things. Putting my true self and raw emotions on display with this blog is gonna hard. But what I want to try to do is help normalize talking about the hard stuff – the stuff we don’t post on social media or say when someone asks how we’re doing. We all have stuff we are dealing with and working through, and it sure would be comforting to know that we aren’t alone.

So, here I am letting go of the pressure of starting a blog by letting you know that I don’t actually know when I’m gonna posts, but I’m committed to showing up when I have something to share! 🙂

The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.”

Steve Maraboli