What about an Online Community?
There's something I have been thinking about and want to share with you.
Do you ever have ideas and then feel like when it comes to putting it out in the wider world, you feel totally unsure if it sounds as good as it did in your own head?
When I am in a creative season, I tend to have lots of ideas. Some that are worthy of further attention and many that are diversion tactics and serve a form of procrastination.
Not all the ideas we have are worthy of further attention and energy and even those that are, often requires more time and effort than what we originally accounted for.
When I find myself full of ideas, I also find the energy of it is that it all needs to be done NOW. Or ideally even started yesterday. I learned from a business coach years ago that a good way to work with this situation, is to have, what she called a “Park It” document. This is a place where you can add all the ideas and inspiration you have and know that they are safely “parked” here, until the time is right to proceed.
What I found by engaging in this practice is that some ideas remained ideas, and others did find their way from idea to realisation, when the time is right. Like my idea of starting a podcast. An idea I’ve had for a few years, but it was only this year that it became a reality. And now I am gearing up to share a second season of The Joyful Nourishment Podcast with you shortly!
It has been a fun project so far and hopefully of benefit to all of those who listens to it.
I’ve had another idea of late, and it is one I want to run by you. Your thoughts and feedback matters to me, and even more so for this one, because this idea may also involve you.
So here is what I have been thinking about lately:
A community element as part of my Joyful + Nourishment Newsletter.
This would include:
1 monthly group Zoom Call, where we might practice something together, try out a new tool or discuss something that feels important to the group.
A weekly community thread where I would invite you to reflect and share (if you want to) with the intention to guide you on the path to a more kind and peaceful relationship with food, eating and your body.
Opportunities to ask questions, both in the weekly thread or on the Zoom call, or anonymously, for me to answer with a voice note to the community.
The main intention of this online community offering is to help people feel less alone in their struggles and to create a space where I can facilitate and support you, and where the community members, can support one another too.
There is still so much stigma, shame and isolation that come with struggles around food, eating, exercise and body image and I believe that we are stronger together.
Together we can also shape this community in a way that support the needs to the collective.
What are your thoughts? (Click on the poll, please!)
To create a container of relative safety, this will be for paid members only, at the cost of €10 / month. Your financial contribution does not only give you access to the online community space (and everything it has to offer) but also helps me continue to create free content for all, such as the podcast and the newsletter.
What if you don’t want to join the community? No worries, you will continue to get the bi weekly podcast episodes and bi weekly essays, straight to your inbox (like you are right now) as a free subscriber. And if you want to join the paid group in the future, you are more than welcome to do so.
So there, my thoughts and ideas of late. And I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas about them…
With blessings,
Linn
P.S I have not just been busy producing podcasts from my own one, I was also recently a guest on my friend Marian Hearne’s podcast Vivacious & Vital Living-Post the Pause and she asked me some brilliant questions. You can listen to the episode she recorded with me here.
PP.S If you haven’t listened to the episodes of the Joyful Nourishment Podcast yet, you can do so here. Season 1 is almost over but I am looking forward to launching season to in Nov.
I have also considered making an online community a main component of my Substack! I do love the idea of it, though I find this platform to be a little bit less geared towards community features. I'm curious to see how it goes for others, and perhaps we can all learn how to do it well together!
Love the idea of a community safe space to work through issues in a meaningful way!