Sunyay Digest: I peed my ski pants
Plus, "Should I quit?" and Facebook flagging me like an idiot.
If you’ve ever peed in a pair of ski pants, you know immediately it’s bad.
When it’s your friend’s mom’s ski pants, well— you must flee, never to return.
This is the hilarious story in your walking companion this week. It then evolves into a a tale of lost childhood innocence and nonsense. You’ll love it.
This week, I’ve been, let’s say - a bit dramatic. In May, Facebook flagged my account because I made a joke that went something like,
As I was lowering myself on to the toilet, I glanced down just as a spider crawled out from under the seat and now I have to burn the house down. Thank you for your support.
The algorithm flagged me for violent speech, preventing me from monetizing my account. I thought this had been remedied, but when an incredible opportunity was presented to me, one that felt like an answer to prayer, it was slapped down as the “violation” was still quietly present and prevented it from moving forward. So not only did I still have trauma from almost sitting on a spider while peeing, I’d been screwed my a robot and a company that doesn’t have a number you can call. This, however, presented another opportunity that was far less favorable, and required a huge sacrifice of time. It also had far bigger potential, but with less guarantees.
And I don’t know what to do. It’s a miserable feeling, this not knowing. It exhausts a reeling mind, that trickles to the body. I’m grumpy while browning hamburger in a pan. Exhausted without doing much at all.
So here’s how I’m nourishing my mind:
The beginning of an endeavor is fun and exciting. This middle place is a total nightmare.
When I first started my platform, a funny website for women I called HaHas for HooHas, I was having the time of my life. I had no followers, so it was just a free for all of creativity, silliness and fun. Then as the followers, expectations and years went up, the sparkle of fun dissipated, and the pressure to perform ground in deep, scraping off the shine.
There’s something compelling about starting over from scratch. Or at least, pretending to do so. What if I pretended I didn’t have followers? What if I created content from a place of laughter and joy rather than a place of pressure for growth?
What if I let myself play again, without expectation? I’ve taught this during many of my public talks, yet how quickly I forget to take my own medicine.
Here’s how I’m nourishing my body:
I had to wait for almost 10 full minutes for these two sassy young girls to leave the locker room so I could take a selfie in peace! I gave my niece (who trained me and gave me my program) an update on my progress. Listen, Oprah just got her knee replaced. Kris Jenner cried on her show because she needed her hip replaced. While it’s something that happens with aging, even for the fit, the best way to prevent the excruciating pain of bone on bone is strength training and making sure my body is its ideal weight.
Seriously, ya’ll - I’m doing my best!
Let’s Walk!
I hope you’re still walking with me!
Set your goal to 10K steps a day. You don’t gotta get weird out there, just enjoy yourself.
Here’s our Episode Five, in the I’m Not Ready for This walk with me series, “I’m Not Ready to Pee My Ski Pants”
Here’s how I’m nourishing my spirit:
God first. Family second. Everything else after that. When I don’t know what to do, I remind myself of my priorities. More often than not, I’ll know precisely what to do.
Question of the week:
Who’s your favorite?
Question asked at one of my speaking events:
I’ve been pursuing a freelancing career for a long while and it’s not growing. When do I know when it’s time to quit or if I should keep going until it works?
My Answer:
If I knew the answer to this, I’d be the new Tony Robbins.
I could tell you “to follow the peace” but sometimes we’re on the right path, and the path gets steep, rocky, our feet slips and it feels dangerous, uncertain and scary. We can feel “relief” getting off the path to smoother ground, and then mistake “relief” for “peace.”
I believe writing books is my calling and this path gets rough more than you’d think for such a sedentary, coffee sipping profession. Sometimes I fantasize about quitting to just focus on my home, maybe start a garden. Or maybe I could flip old houses and restore them to their former glory (thanks a lot HGTV)!
But who am I kidding? If I were to quit this calling— I would feel a deep sense of regret and remorse. In fact, the thought of quitting feels worse than suffering through the rough patches that sometimes break my heart.
So I guess my answer is this: Yes, follow the peace. And make darn sure you haven’t confused it for relief. Good luck <3
Have a question for me too? Ask away in the comments or reply to this email.
PS: If you’d like more info on this endeavor, offerings and my heart behind it, check out the updated about page.
And, of course, the best way to support me is to not only buy my books, but to get a copy for your friends and family to help support my mission to spread laughter.
Have we met? I’m Anna Lind Thomas, a humor writer out of Omaha, Nebraska. I’m listed as one of USA Today’s top ten funniest women writers, and author of the best selling book We’ll Laugh About This (Someday) and my latest - I’m Not Ready for This. Once you read them, text me (number’s in the back and I respond!). Don’t forget to say hi on Facebook and Instagram.