I just snapped this selfie a few moments ago for this post to demonstrate #Thursday3 in which women share a selfie and 3 things happening in their lives in the moment as a way of standing with other women to say “our average, ordinary, everyday lives matter.” What a beautiful project!
So, here are three very ordinary things about this photo:
- I am trying out a new eyebrow pen. Between a few childhood mishap scars and hypothyroidism, I don’t have very much in the way of eyebrows. I’m not
sure if the new eyebrow look seems weird to me because I don’t know how to apply it or because I’m not used to having brows that look more like hairs instead of a drawn on line. Otherwise, I’m wearing no make-up and my hair is a bit of a mess which is my usual “look.”
- This is a snapshot of the spot where I work. You can’t tell well from the photo, but I have a view of a tiny “lake,” and it’s just snowed for the first time this year.
- I’m wearing my usual winter uniform of a sweatshirt from some hiking or kayaking adventure.
Three things inspired me to share this moment in time with you.
#Thursday3 Project
First, I recently connected with the delightful Julie Jordan Scott, The Creative Life Midwife. She interviewed me on her YouTube channel, and we had a great discussion of how creatives – artists and writers in particular – make great course creators. Naturally, we also discussed connection and community in depth.
Besides writing this blog, I also have a business called Connected Course Designs where I help creatives and solopreneurs design online courses that create connection with their learners in a way that helps them be successful with the content.
Since connecting, I’ve been intrigued by Julie’s Thursday social media selfie posts – her hugging a tree, getting her roots dyed, or reading a book.
Everyday Life
Recently, my son sent me this photo of a 1960’s-era Zenith television remote control with raised buttons. Until I saw the photo, I’d completely forgotten this style of channel changer. It brought up a visceral memory of the satisfying click the buttons make when pushed.
It made me wish I had a picture of the one we had growing up, but no one thinks of taking pictures of mundane items like that. They are so common to our everyday lives that we forget that someday, they’ll be obsolete and difficult to recall their exact form.
My son noted, “Which is one of the reasons I don’t fault people for taking pictures of their food. Those photos might still be around 400 years from now. Wouldn’t it be neat to have millions of photos of the food people from every walk of life ate 400 years ago?”
Everyday life matters. Sharing it with others creates connection and increases our social value.
Inspiration to be Vulnerable
I looked up other people’s posts under the #Thursday3 hashtag and found women sharing everything from the very common experience of being exhausted after having family visit to the uncommon experience of a life-altering anniversary of having nearly died from an illness.
Ordinary moments evoke nostalgic recollections of childhood events and of people who have passed. Women muse about the need for more self-compassion and commit to it. Reading the posts, you empathize with the mom who shares the drama of a child coming home from school on Halloween afternoon with the perfect costume idea.
The accompanying photos are in the moment, as the person is as they are posting – looking rather rough after a night of intestinal disturbance, in a pumpkin patch as their child hunts for the perfect one to take home, reading a book, or in the midst of a hair color update.
These are the kind of moments that connect us to others because they are common. Vulnerability doesn’t mean blurting out your deepest, darkest secrets with just anyone.
In fact, Brené Brown warns that vulnerability isn’t about randomly dumping emotions on whoever happens to be around. She says, “Vulnerability minus boundaries is not vulnerability. Are you sharing your emotions, your experiences, to move work, connection, a relationship forward, or are you working your s**t out with somebody?” If it’s the latter, she warns the intimate struggles are ones you save for your therapist, your spouse, or your personal brain trust.
So, the final reason for highlighting the #Thursday3 project is to inspire you, male or female, to share your day-to-day life with others to connect and create community together.
And, if you have any eyebrow pencil recommendations, I’m all ears!
Golden Connection Challenge:
Make an everyday vulnerable post this week. If you are a woman, use the #Thursday3 hashtag on Facebook or Instagram.
If you’re not on social media, share an everyday vulnerable moment with a friend.
Extra Challenge: Commit to doing an everyday vulnerability post every week for a month...or year...or indefinitely.
I’d love to hear about your experiences with a comment here or email me using the contact form.