The scariest thing about Substack
& a little pep talk to help us through it
She looked up from her large podcast-like mic to talk to her 3 million followers to passively announce, “I started a Substack with my friend!”
The link showed up in a pretty font overlay beneath her as she began explaining what their joined Substack was about, and I found myself frozen.
It was the second time in a day that I’d heard someone so big in the online space announce their Substack, and it started to make me worry...
Don’t get me wrong, I love when people discover Substack. It’s a magical piece of the internet I truly want other creatives and writers to experience as well.
It feels like a secret, intimate, clubhouse filled with fertile creativity and possibilities. Like we can all emerge from it and back into the real world to try to explain it to others and they’d just move the conversation forward, disinterested and clearly unable to grasp the uniqueness of our space.
But when people with bigger audiences share their Substack, my ego flares and I imagine all the readers across the web leaving in a trance for these big names as if they’re majestic Sirens, leaving not a single soul for the rest of us.
They’re gonna take all the attention away from us! My mind screams.
But I’m well aware these are only thoughts; I consciously know there’s enough abundance of every kind for all of us.
So when I feel the envy burning I notice it, then observe it, and understand what it’s trying to tell me as it pulls at the hem of my heart:
You feel so emotionally invested in the actions these people are taking because you’re desiring the same outcome yourself.
When I was coaching for a short stint in a past life, I’d say all the time that not everyone is interested, excited, or envious of what everyone else is doing.
You can hear about architects, construction workers, people who relocate wasps for a living and experience no visceral reaction toward it… The sky is blue, and people have those jobs.
But whatever piques your interest, snags your focus, makes you stop in your tracks when someone has it instead of you…
That’s something to look into.
To take action in.
To explore deeper.
And I really hope you do, because I certainly am.
The work I do here on Substack means the world to me, and I’ll no longer subscribe to quantity, pressure, or “shoulds” that just end up producing pieces I’m not eager to show off.
Noticing twice in one day bigger internet names announcing their Substacks may have caught my attention enough to write a post, but I chose to override that and believe that our people will find us.
Especially if we let the pride in our work lead us to share what we’re so happily creating way more often.
This message is as much for you as it is for me. I have a hunch I’m not the only person who’s felt this way when seeing more and more attention be brought to Substack.
I’m just looking at it as a spotlight now. Showing me that my emotional investment has to mean something.
My quarterly two-week hiatus might have extended way past its intentional end, but with its rest, recovery, and quality family time–it’s been needed. I’m learning to trust myself and my pace more as I gradually learn how to navigate life without mom being the center of my life anymore.
Writing hasn’t come easy lately. I’ve started a small handful of pieces I’m not sure will flesh out into anything or even make any sense…
But again, I’m trusting everything will unfold at the right time.
Can’t wait to get back to at least reading Substacks in my inbox; I’m so behind! I’ve missed you all and miss being more involved in this space.
Alright, enough mushy talk. I’ll see you around and will be posting soon enough. :)
Warmly,
Cierra M
The scariest thing about Substack is . . . doubt was concerned, fear was nervous, insecurity trembled, and darkness brightened, because Cierra picked up a pen.
I both love substack for the community, incredible reads on topics I never would have consider, and also get jealous when others have more subscribers, or when a famous person starts a substack as well.
Although I personally try not to get too caught up in the latter part, and I just do my personal journalling / positive writing for myself and my audience, and right now that provides more than enough satisfaction to keep me going without getting too worked up over "others" subscribers counts.
Plus all of the incredible writers on this platform have definitely given me so much food for thought, and also increased my writing to a place where I am proud to be.