51 Comments
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Laura Elliott's avatar

Congrats Ana! 🌸 What a beautiful edition. I’m loving the articles and the beautiful layout. You are an inspiration 💫 Especially with all you’ve had on your plate lately! Thank you for including “Courage To Walk” ☀️

Not Exactly Ana's avatar

Thank you so much, Laura! It means a lot to me 🩷🫶🏻

Letters From Lily's avatar

what you wrote is so true, ana! i struggled with the same thing and after one point i decided to choose my mental health over growing my substack and took a break.. it took me four days to hit publish on an almost ready essay but i know my energy is not ready to perform at substack right now and so i try my best to write but not to perform.. someday, ill be ready to be back and be fully active again!! thank you so much for your wonderful magazine and just know that you’ve been an inspiration for me! ❤️🌟

Not Exactly Ana's avatar

Hey, dear girl🫶🏻🥹I’m always here for you, even if you need to talk to someone. Take your time and prioritise yourself 🩷 That’s the most important thing 🫶🏻

And Truth's avatar

Beautifully articulated. I firmly believe it’s not how many consume our squibblings, but the motive rumbling beneath our words that inevitably determines their value. Don’t write for an audience. Write because the unobserved parts of your heart and mind break through the sterilized isolation of society. The meaningful gratitude of the purely motivated writer is unaffected by the number of people who stumble upon them. We know; we know honest words automatically attract an audience comprised of precisely the right people.

Not Exactly Ana's avatar

Your words made my day! Thank you for the wisdom 🫶🏻🩷

Michelle Verdugo's avatar

Congratulations 🎉🎈

Not Exactly Ana's avatar

Thank you🫶🏻❤️

John Edwards's avatar

Thank you Ana for sharing this article with us. It all makes perfect sense.

Not Exactly Ana's avatar

Thank you for appreciating my work🩷

John Edwards's avatar

I thought I was the only one who had those thoughts about SS.

Hina Gondal's avatar

Congratulations sweetheart ❤️🫶

Not Exactly Ana's avatar

Thank you, Hina🫶🏻❤️

VedJournal ✍️📜's avatar

Best Motivational Writer on Substack

Thanks for sharing and keep writing 💫

Just highlighting this part

stop competing with yourself and let go of control for a little while.

Your writing, your words, and your work matter.

Not Exactly Ana's avatar

Thank you so so much 🥹

Maria is sorting it out's avatar

Thank you, Ana, for putting words to these thoughts. I love the idea of giving yourself permission to set the pace, and remembering why you started writing in the first place. 🫶

Not Exactly Ana's avatar

Thank you so much for the kind words, Maria ❤️🫶🏻

Bring One Thing's avatar

I could personally relate to this so much. It’s comforting to know there’s more people who think like me, out there haha. Congrats on a great post!

Not Exactly Ana's avatar

Thank you so much!🩷Everyone experiences this kind of pain, I think, but most of people don’t feel comfortable talking about it

Rachel Nasatka's avatar

Appreciated this today! I felt like I had strong early growth, but now it’s sort of stalled. It’s frustrating and makes me feel like my content is wrong, but I know that the more I can just enjoy the ride, the better it will be 🤍

Not Exactly Ana's avatar

Enjoy the ride! 🫶🏻🩷It will be okay, I promise

Data Frank's avatar

I think burnout gets really bad once taking a break starts feeling risky.

A lot of creators are not even writing because they want to anymore. They are scared people will forget them if they slow down.

Not Exactly Ana's avatar

Unfortunately, you are right about this! Hope it will get better soon

Aaron's avatar

Ana with the HEAT

RJ Sykes's avatar

And remember once your words are there, they stay evergreen. Also, there’s a backup option so nothing is ever lost. Do that regularly.

The Rebellion Within - Hattie's avatar

So many amazing stories. Sitting with my favorite coffee cup and reading everyone's.

Thank you again for featuring me and my story ♥️

Not Exactly Ana's avatar

Thank you for being part of this project 🩷🫶🏻

Lisa La Colla's avatar

Oh wow, what a moving edition. Thank you for your work, Ana! It's truly special 💝

Not Exactly Ana's avatar

I’m so grateful that I’ve found you on Substack 🫶🏻🥰

Jon hamp's avatar

Thank you. Honest and very much worth saying

Not Exactly Ana's avatar

Thank you for being here🫶🏻