Holding my book

And holding back from social media

I got to hold Inner Workout in my hands for the first time last week, and I wasn’t prepared for how emotional that moment would be.

My mind was in a million places that day as I tied up loose ends before leaving for Paris the following day. It was after 12 by the time I made to the office. I rarely receive mail at my office building, but there was a manila envelope waiting for me with the Chronicle logo emblazoned on it.

In an instant, I went from frazzled to hyper focused on what was within that envelope. I made my way upstairs to my office, cleansed my hands with hand sanitizer, lit my gratitude candle, and ripped open the package. 

I forgot to breathe for a moment as I held the book in my hands. It’s gorgeous. It’s mine. My eyes welled up as I leafed through the pages, admiring the formatting, the illustrations, and the gradients.

A warmth expanded in my heart space. I laughed and spontaneously exclaimed, “Wow!” Eventually the warmth became so pleasantly overwhelming that there was nothing left to do but hug the book towards my chest. 

After I had several moments to myself, I sent photos to my inner circle. There was a flurry of emojis and ALL CAPS and exclamation points!!!!!!

I brought the book to the suburbs with me before we left for Paris so my parents and in-laws could revel in it in-person.

All that happened before I’m sharing it with you today.

In a week or so, I’ll share it all on social media. 

I used to be quicker to share news with the broader internet, a product of the millennial “pics or it didn’t happen” mentality. Now, I enjoy sharing to concentric circles over time for reasons both practical and philosophical.

Philosophically, I’m pushing back against the idea that our lives should be content.

We’re in charge of what we share and when we share it.

Adopting a more layered approach to sharing allows me to experience my own emotions before opening the news up to others and their opinions.

There’s also news that I simply don’t share with the broadest circles. 

Yes, it’s about boundaries and privacy. It’s also about marketing and reciprocity. It feels more aligned to share with people who’ve said, “You’re welcome in my inbox every week” than to cross my fingers and throw my news out to the algorithm.

And when I give first dibs and exclusives to this space, people have an incentive to subscribe.

I’m not really sure how to end this newsletter. I started by sharing my book news and ended with a treatise on sharing news on social media.

I guess I’ll end with gratitude. Thanks for letting me into your inbox and for journeying with me.