Dear Ones,
The latest blip in my creator journey is reconciling my identities.
Back in October 2021, I went through Write of Passage, which led to a renaissance of projects, business ideas, writing, etc. that you have witnessed through this newsletter.
The journey felt like KuĂČÄn ShÄ«yuÇn's Ten Bulls painting, normally used to explain Zen enlightenment:
But to interpret it in a mundane, non-enlightenment-related fashion, where I struggle with right now is Step 10: Return to Society.
By that I meanâŠI had left Corporate Christin behind, in her sad lilâ corner. She was the one who never felt like she fitted in. It was a constricted life, one where she never really got to/knew how to use what she was good at or enjoyed doing.
And Corporate Christin resides in LinkedIn. I had avoided this social network, thinking that itâs like going back to the place where I never felt like I belonged.
But what I didnât realize was that this avoidance is whatâs leading to the identity fragmentation. None of my friends or acquaintances in this world know about the ânewâ me. âNewâ in quotes, because itâs the ârealâ me.
So now that I have a firmer foundation with my writing and tweets, Iâm going back in, baby! My friend Danny Naz recommended The LinkedIn OS. (Since going back to the âoldâ world still gives me adverse visceral reactions, Iâm ârewarding myselfâ through reliable dopamine hits from online coursesâŠ)
When I told this story to Write of Passage friends this morning, it seemed to resonate with other budding creators, as we transition from one identity to another.
What about you? How do you handle online/offline identity transitions?
Warm Wishes,
Christin
LinkedIn is the worst đ its like the new Facebook where Iâm just creeping
There's a whole blog post I've yet to write about how I tried to eliminate the delta between online/offline persona and got burned a few times (ahem, learning discernment is a very valuable skill). LOL, I'm still WIP on that one with each cycle from 1-10.