114: I Worry and I Forget

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Today’s podcast episode is a mash up of two previous itty bitty thoughts, as well as a continuation of them. I hope you find today’s thoughts inspiring and motivational as we maneuver our way through 2020 and beyond. There’s also some homework, if you’d like to get involved!

Also, if you listen to today’s episode, you will know what #cheetodust means, and why we should start using it.

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Worry

First, check out my previous Itty Bitty Thought: What I Worry About

Here are further thoughts—and some homework—after you visit the above link:

Back in episode 77, I did an episode called Because Winter is Hard: Mental Health for Homesteaders. I’m going to ask you to do something to help me build a future episode. This idea actually didn’t come from me, it was actually suggested by a listener who goes by “Kelley from the Northeast”.

She suggested:

I think it would be a great idea to have an episode where you have other people write in on how they get through the winter and maybe you’ll get some novel ideas.

What a great idea! I’ve got an inkling that Winter of 2020 is going to be hard for a lot of folks. Maybe that’s you, maybe it’s not. If you’d like to help build an episode and blog post to motivate and encourage others through the winter, comment below or drop me an email about how you plan to get through winter 2020. You can email me at [email protected]

Forget

First, read through my Itty Bitty thought called The Thing We Keep Forgetting.

Then, continue here:

What I want to point out is that we need that time to be angry and frustrated—that’s part of the process, so don’t squash it down. But the next step is to remember you still have a pulse and as long as you’re alive here there is something you’re supposed to be doing.

I don’t know what that something is for you.

You might not know what that something is for you.

But I encourage you to spend some time thinking about it. 

Do not get stuck in the idea that you will get started when this blows over or that it’s pointless to do anything because you don’t know what’s coming. Make a plan and go for it. If things change (and they will because this is life) then you adjust.

But you can’t adjust anything if you’ve spent this whole sitting on the couch licking Cheeto dust off your fingers.

My plans and thoughts: dream big

I’ve had time to think and time to plan.

To be completely honest, when I think about A Farmish Kind of Life, I get confused about where it’s going. I started this website years ago and I’ve talked about the homesteading journey as I understand it and as I’ve lived it. But now we’ve found our groove, we know what works and doesn’t work for us, and I’ve wrote and spoke about the majority of those things. 

Eventually, one gets to a point where they think okay, now what do I talk about?

If you’ve been here at the podcast/website for awhile you have seen how this has gone from all about homesteading to all about a lot of different stuff. I had a listener email me the other day giving me some very kind words about the itty bitty thoughts I had recorded back in episode 109 and she said “it’s almost like you’ve moved from homestead podcaster to motivational podcaster.”

And maybe that’s what I am now.

I’ve also had a couple of you ask if I’m going to put my itty bitty thoughts into a book.

Maybe I’ll do that.

The point is, the benefit in being “farmish” is that I can morph into different things. And I think it’s important to realize that at this point in life and technology and connection, we can do that. So while I don’t think this site or my podcast is going anywhere anytime soon, I do know that it’s morphing, much like a person does when they grow.

And some of you will think that’s fab and say, “it’s so great to feel like I’m sitting down to have a cup of coffee with you as you chat about whatever your topic is today” and others of you will kick out because you really wanted to listen to a podcast and read a website where someone focused on hay and fencing and chicken coops and wild yeast and goat illnesses and how to mix your own feed.

Maybe a Farmish Kind of Life is becoming less of a thing and more of an extension of me. So yes, maybe for a few weeks I’m crazy about recipes. And maybe the week after that I’m telling you how to weave more productivity into your life and maybe two weeks later I’m doing a humorous episode about the pros and cons of living in a house of all men. And then maybe I’m telling you oh hey, I decided last week to put together a book of 101 tips for how to help yourself so you can help others.

Maybe the gorgeousness that could come out of something like 2020 is that we could allow for breathing space for things and people to work in to being what and who they are.

So my plan with A Farmish Kind of Life with all of this thinking and planning is to move forward with what it is. What it’s supposed to be. To not be afraid to talk about whatever  comes up. To not worry about what it is or isn’t. To not be scared of it. To not be so concerned about how or if what I’m writing about connects somehow to chickens or a barn or a loaf of bread.

Because I bet your life revolves around a lot more than just chickens or a barn or a loaf of bread.

And that’s a really freeing thought that I needed to have. And it’s going to make MORE stuff happen.

Behind the scenes I’m figuring out my schedule for brainstorming and doing and making. I’m figuring out finances and the ROI for directions I can take things that I’m now allowing myself to explore. And I’m getting excited.

You guys, I’m going into WINTER 2020, and I’m excited?

WHAT EVEN IS THIS.

Even more plans

Many of y’all know I’m a fiction author under a pen name, even though it has been SIX YEARS since I published my last fiction book.

SIX. FREAKING. YEARS.

WHAT EVEN IS THAT.

So, I’ve been doing some hardcore note-taking and plotting and spread-sheeting to come up with a plan of everything I’m going to write and release next year.

And you guys, it’s a crazy plan. It’s a ton of work. It’s also completely possible if I kick myself in the butt and stop treating my fiction writing like an “art” and more like a “job”.

Which is what I had to be honest with myself about. And maybe you’ve got to do that, too? 

I already had someone tell me it’s going to be way too much work and I’m going to fail.

(To which I thought: That’s cool, buddy. What are you doing with your time?)

#cheetodust. Ahem.

So.

Your heart is still beating.

What are you going to do?

Can we support each other in our crazy goals?

What are your crazy goals and ridiculous plans to move yourself forward and do something else/more/different?

(Email me or comment below and let me know so we can support each other!)

Start something.

Change something.

Do something.

Do something else.

Keep going.

  — Amy Dingmann, 11-23-20

Remember to bookmark ITTY BITTY THOUGHTS and come check out my daily posts here at A Farmish Kind of Life

RESOURCES:

Recipe for Carrot Pie

Episode 77: Winter is Hard: Mental Health for Homesteaders

Episode 93: Okay Now What? Keep Going.

Episode 102: What are YOU Going to Do About It

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