𝟐𝟏 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐦𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐲

[𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟎] 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭⁣
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When it comes to doing these 21 day writing challenges, I don’t doubt my ability to complete the task. I doubt my ability to complete the task well. Writing something every weekday for 21 days means you don’t have anywhere to hide. Some days you just have to type until the typing becomes something useable.⁣
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Other days you’re sure what you’re writing is pretentious crap, but you’re going to have to hit send anyway, and you don’t have any other ideas, so you just get on with it. Then when you look back on some of the writing, you realise you were at least being truthful. It cuts any perfectionism.⁣
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Sometimes this means revealing things I would never have decided to reveal any other way. I've done several 21-day challenges, but this is the first time I've decided to publish wholesale, and it's felt important to think about my boundaries. I will never publish anything that discloses a story that’s not mine to tell, and as a midwife, I am professionally bound to stick to a narrow passageway of stories. But the process of writing every day reminds me that I shouldn’t wait to be well rested, self-actualised and in a good mood before getting on with something important. Self-care and rest are essential parts of a good life, but they will not be in place all the time, and that’s okay. Getting stuck in with honesty and showing up as our raw, doubting, vulnerable selves is all that’s needed most of the time.⁣
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As someone maybe thinking about having kids, I’m drawn towards reading work that addresses how to be a good parent, and it looks like you have to parent yourself well first, and then your kids learn from that. Midwifery, writing, relationships, whatever you have devoted yourself to, if you keep thinking your performance has to be flawless, you’re missing the point: people just want you. ⁣
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All my best,⁣
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Ellie.⁣