I had a reflective conversation with my husband last night about the power of choice in our days and auditing what we are doing with our time. We spoke to consuming the news, social media, podcasts and the nights we flip between streaming TV and reading a library book. We talked about finances, the government, and we explored what makes us happy. We discussed how these choices we make day to day impact our energy and thus, of course, how we show up for one another and our children - how we show up for ourselves.
It was a deeper conversation and it jolted us.
In a good way.
In a curious way.
In a ‘get real’ way.
I will say we did not leave with a plan. The conversation somewhat paused as we brushed our teeth and took time to marinate in the discussion, the questions left open ended and our choices that we would like to move forward into a new year.
As you may know, I am in the midst of a huge goal that started in 2021 and has led to a launch date in 2022. Goals do that, they take time and they straddle days into months into years.
On January 11, I will open my online community called TOGETHER with Jacki Carr, an online space created and curated for you as an alternative to the social media scroll and spiral.
This goal is born from my own experience, my skill set and a desire to be together as humans in our growth, in our curiosities, in community and collaboration. Personally speaking, last year (2021) was a truly hard year for me. I navigated and am still navigating loss and grief. My business failed.
And the goal is born from a desire for something different, as so many goals are born from an agent of change.
I found myself last year addicted to social media. I was on the Instagram app for hours a day posting, writing captions, answering messages, writing on other people’s posts and scrolling for inspiration then doom scrolling then scrolling to learn and unlearn and then scrolling because that is what felt productive for my business as I was not speaking on stages and I was not travelling on planes and I was not creating courses at this time or hosting in person events or leading retreats.
And the lethargy was real.
I felt myself becoming someone I did not want to be. Someone hunched over a small screen, life out of focus, business out of focus, heart out of focus. I fell into comparison often. I felt old even more often - you know those launch of the reels, wow. And then I stopped. I took a two month break and realized: THIS IS NOT IT.
And it still is not it.
I don’t come alive on the gram.
So what the f*ck am I doing?
A nod to the conversation I had with Chris last night, what am I doing with my time?
From that question, I have hired an incredible creative team who now runs my social media presence while also building out my new community platform. I have gotten super clear on how I want to be in connection with people with a community vibration of support, learning and challenge….together.
And it had to be somewhere else.
Not there on Facebook or Instagram. Tik Tok or Twitter.
I realize it is a risk to go somewhere else - I hear myself say that people perhaps are not comfortable on a new app, don’t want a new link or something different. And those are stories rooted in fear because the truth is: I know I want a new space, a new place to connect. With less distraction, more intention. Less scroll, more goal. Less formulaic, way more heart.
So I created a community for you and for me.
A place to be…
In connection
In learning.
In reading.
In curiosity.
In humanness.
Together.
And I believe deeply we as humans need one another.
Less self help, more community support.
The TOGETHER with Jacki Carr community will host live trainings with me monthly on topics like boundaries, complaints into commitments, values, goals your way and our legacies in design. I will lead a first of the month audit and ask for clarity, reflection and growth with a nod to a goalSHARE circle to support sharing our goal out loud. I will host challenges because I believe in getting uncomfortable on and off the screen. There will be featured guest speakers regularly on topics like cold therapy, solo sex, fierce finances, intuitive eating, meditation, microdosing, government policies, advocacy and more. There is a monthly book club. And I am open to requests, curating this community for what you want.
Let it be kismet.
Let it be supportive.
And let’s be together.
This is my goal alive.