‘Sup?
Yes, it’s been that kind of week. It’s been….spicy.
I spent last weekend doing not very much, which was great. The highlight was watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding with my teenage (and occasionally…spicy) daughter. It's one of my favourite movies ever, I feel like if you replaced Greeks with Ghanaians, there are elements of my own story in it, lol. Not the restaurant, or the Windex fix-all. Mainly, the “fish out of water finds herself” bit, the inside family jokes and gatherings, and big feelings.
Gif by mybigfatgreekwedding on Giphy
I didn’t think she’d like it. Turns out, she loved it just as much as I did, and now neither of us can say "bundt cake" without laughing. IYKYK.
On the work front, I’ve been feeling a little… antsy, impatient, excited and nervous. That’s because there are changes afoot, changes that I think you’ll like. I’ll tell you more about that later.
But now it’s on to my weekly reflection
This week, let’s dive into why and how you can stop trying to guess your editorial niche. I’ll also give you tips to help you find it. For real this time.
Before I get into it, let me just say this: I know finding it doesn’t feel like a walk in the park. Today it’s this, but yesterday it was something else. It can feel unsettling and confusing. And frustrating and lonely. No wonder so many people slide right past it and land at the ‘let’s just build something!’ stage.
But you know where you end up? Looking for validation from the number of likes on social media accounts, or pats on the head from your cats (mine are sleeping on my lap as I type).
And that, my friends, gets a “no” from me.
Meet Jenni Gritters. She’s the author of The Sustainable Solopreneur, and creative herself, in an interview with the Substack ‘Ditch The Templates’ she said:
“External referencing = relying on other people’s feedback or external metrics of success to tell me that I’m doing a good job. Internal referencing = tuning into my own needs and desires, listening to my intuition and body, then making clear decisions to create a life that feels successful to me.”
She’s a woman after my own heart!
And yet, I hear you asking, Christabel, what has that got to do with finding your narrative voice?
IT'S EVERYTHING, MY FRIENDS!
Yes, Jenni was talking about trusting her knowledge and experience to build something authentic to her. That thing was her business, but the same applies to YOUR VOICE.
It’s the north star that will guide your content creation. It’s the thing that will keep you in check, honest. And embracing it is the most important step toward creating a narrative blueprint that will stop you from second-guessing or overexplaining yourself to keep other people happy. See?
Identifying & Anchoring Your Voice - Try This:
Take 15 minutes to write down the three things in your area of interest/industry that you’ve seen over the seven days that speak to something that are overlooked, misunderstood, or flat-out wrong.
Take a note of how you’re reacting to this. You feeling spicy about it? Cool. Not so much? That’s okay too. It’s all data.
Write ‘em down, and note how you feel about those topics.
DO NOT worry about whether they are "on-brand" or "marketable." This isn't for an audience yet—it's for you. This is about listening to YOUR inner compass, and cutting through the noise.
And, if you’re curious about learning more, I’ll be doing more of this work through my Close Your Narrative Gap program, starting on March 16.
“Close Your Narrative Gap” is an intentionally sized three-week hybrid program where I’ll guide you to find your narrative direction, identify topics to create content around, and create your narrative blueprint, so you can talk to the world about what you do with the clarity, consistency, and confidence you’ve been looking for.
I’ve designed it so you can fit your lessons into your day and get the guidance you need to maintain your momentum.
All for $99.
See you soon!
Christabel