Writing With Crushing Anxiety, The Latest on Medium, and Upcoming Subscription Renewals

My wife has returned from her trip and I didn't realize how much her absence weighed on me last week

Hello Friends!

I'm feeling a lot better today. In a podcast from a week ago, I mentioned that my wife was taking a quick trip to Peru. We are fully aware of the risks involved in international travel during these uncertain times.

Unfortunately, it feels like more and more often we're placed in situations where both choices are bad. I know that my wife is always replenished when she goes back home, even for a short trip. She gets to see her family and friends, and that's critical.

That, I think, is the key to navigating the rough waters that are before us. You have to be bold and take the actions that renew your spirit. You can't huddle at home in fear. Neither my wife nor I liked the fact that aviation security has been in the news a lot lately. But even with the unacceptable increase in incidents, flying remains statistically safer than driving.

I did the math.

I'm pleased to report that she made it safely to Peru and she returned on Saturday. She got through customs without any issues. With the increase in stories about immigration agents searching through cell phones, I feel it’s important to note that she was readmitted without incident. As of now, residents rather than citizens seem to be the ones targeted for additional screening. But we all know that things can change quickly, and nobody should be harassed.

Over the last week, I enjoyed spending time with my kids, but I don't think I fully appreciated how much stress I felt to have my wife away. I've been dealing with nerve discomfort in my face but that's gone away since my wife has been back.

Sometimes we don't fully recognize the amount of stress that we're under. The current administration has turned the stress dial all the way to 11. They've done it for no purpose other than to torment us and it's awful.

Last night, as I was laying in bed, I was frantically trying to come up with more tactics to survive and navigate these times. One of them is that we have to place a greater emphasis on living in the moment. That's a good thing to remember in any case.

I'm trying to be more mindful of the things I appreciate every day. That involves a greater focus on the conversations I have with my children. It involves pausing to give my wife an extra hug and an extra kind word. It involves being more present on my walks with the dog. I try not to think so much about what will happen in a month or a year. I try to think about the next 10 minutes, or 5 minutes, or the PRESENT!

Enjoy your life, you don't get to do it over. Even in hard times, we find our nourishment in joy.

I've also found that I feel less stress when I eat better. For the last few months, I've been trying to lose weight by eating steamed vegetables. One day a week I go to the grocery store and buy Brussels sprouts, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower. I cut it up and boil it with quinoa and then store it in plastic containers in my fridge. My rule is that I can eat whatever I want, but only after I eat a pound of steamed vegetables.

Denying yourself things doesn't work, but bribing yourself does. What you'll find is that if you promise yourself a treat after the vegetables, you'll sit down and eat the vegetables. Once you are done, you find you no longer crave the treat. After you've done this for a while, you start to crave the vegetables. Then you really start to make progress.

Our food supply is pretty awful and it's designed to make you addicted to unhealthy foods. If you eat straight up vegetables, you lose weight. As a side effect, you also start to feel a lot better mentally. If you're out there scrambling to find tactics to preserve your mental health, this one is worth giving a shot, there's no downside. It's not even all that expensive.

You might be getting a renewal email

I first turned on paid subscriptions for this newsletter on April 23^rd, 2024. It has been a remarkable journey. At the time, my earnings on Medium were really strong, but my spider sense was tingling because writing has always been a financially insecure occupation.

Sure enough, shortly after I started up subscriptions, my Medium earnings began to decline. It hasn't been a complete cratering out, but the extra income from Substack has been a life saver.

The good news is that Medium does seem to be rebounding. I'm pleased to report that, for the first time in about six months, I'll be earning more on Medium this month than I did on the previous month. That's positive! It appears as if the Boost program is becoming less critical, though it's still very important. The Featured program is gaining steam and that's been welcome to see too.

Over the last two months or so, my focus has switched to Substack. I used to write on Medium with the intent of importing my work to Substack at a later date. Now, I start with Substack and import to Medium.

Rather than attempt to write 10-20 that conform to the standard of Medium's Boost, I'm writing 30-40 articles that are based more on pure inspiration. I'm also more efficient these days. Creating the voice over is another opportunity to edit, and by the time that's done I know the article is in good shape. Now rather than write and import later, I create drafts on Medium, Substack, and my Podcast all at once. This allows me to preschedule content on Substack and always have something available to publish on Medium.

March will also be the first month in a couple months where my Medium earnings exceed my Substack earnings. New paid subscriptions have been slow over the last few weeks, but I attribute that to tax season and other looming uncertainties.

I retain my paid subscribers very well, but it's always disappointing when I lose one. I have to remember not to blame myself and that you lose paid subscribers because people hit hard times, or there's a payment problem, or a credit card expires, or a thousand other reasons.

This newsletter is getting close to sustainability, but I still have a ways to go. If you get the renewal email, but the price is prohibitive now, please consider remaining a paid subscriber at a lower payment tier. I'd like to spread out the cost as much as possible, and if you can sponsor me with $20 or $40 a year, then that will make all the difference. If you have the means to offer more, thank you!

I checked and double checked with Substack and it says you will not be charged more than you paid when you originally subscribed. However, you might get an email that says “Renew at $80 with coupon code 01f1b0e8?” That might be confusing because you probably don't have all the coupon codes memorized.

If there's some sort of payment issue, please reach out to me and I'll help you get it sorted out. If you've been a longtime reader and you're thinking of sponsoring me, please do! I could use the shot in the arm today!

Wishing you all strength

I think my wife's absence added anxiety that influenced my writing last week. I expect I will be more hopeful this week and going forward. I've received some really wonderful feedback over the last few days. It encourages me that when I write something that my readers don't agree with, they take the time to explain their concerns to me.

That's healthy! I'm the first to admit that I'm not always right, and as much time as I spend with words, I don't always have a complete awareness of the stresses that are influencing my perspective. I rely on you all to help me course-correct. So please, keep sending me your comments, your questions, and your concerns.

We're growing. We're making the world better. Good things are coming.

As always, thanks for your support (boy… do I need it)!

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