I Thought I Was Starting Something New. I Wasn't.

When I started writing on Substack, I thought I’d be sharing little observations about midlife, moving to Spain, slowing down, following the creative nudges, and seeing things more clearly than I ever have before.

I didn’t come here with a niche, strategy, or any particular expectations.

So what’s happened has really taken me by surprise: People started replying.

And in one month I went from 12 subscribers to over 4,000.

I know…I’m still in shock myself.

The most beautiful part about this is that I’ve found myself sitting with copious cups of tea reading stories from people all over the world.

Stories about marriage. Discovery. Careers. Menopause. Friendships. Grief. Exhaustion. Starting over…

People sharing their hearts while trying to work out who they are now that life looks different than they expected.

As I’ve sat reading and replying, I’ve been struck by how often the same themes emerge.

Different lives. Different circumstances. Yet so many of us seem to be circling around the same questions.

Questions about identity, boundaries, people-pleasing, rest, starting over, and finding our way back to ourselves.

About becoming more ourselves instead of less.

The growth on Substack surprised me. The conversations didn't.

Because I’ve been having versions of these conversations with myself for years.

Trying to make sense of my own experiences. Trying to understand why we lose ourselves. Why we outgrow things. Why some seasons of life ask us to let go and begin again.

I’ve always felt compelled to explore these ideas and share what I’ve learned along the way, and eventually that led me to Insight Timer - a truly beautiful platform that invites people to create audio courses around the things that matter to them.

So that’s what I did.

Over the years I created courses on boundaries, personal power, relationships, finding yourself again, people-pleasing, rest and emotional wellbeing.

Looking back, I can see they were all different expressions of the same curiosity.

The same exploration.

The same conversation.

The courses I created were just me trying to understand what it means to be human. To be a woman. To lose yourself. To find yourself. To become yourself.

The format is different but the conversation is the same.

And that’s been my little lightbulb moment.

I arrived here thinking I was starting something new.

Instead, I’ve realised I’ve simply found a new way to continue an exploration I’ve been on for years.

The difference is that I’m no longer doing it alone.

And I think that explains why so many of us found each other.

Because beneath all the details, many of us seem to be wrestling with the same things.

How do I come home to myself? How do I let go of who I thought I was supposed to be? How do I build a life that feels like mine? How do I become more myself instead of less?

Anyway.

All of this is a rather roundabout way of saying you may not realise I have an entire library of audio courses about these very subjects over on Insight Timer.

And I can clearly see that many of the conversations we’re having here are the same conversations that inspired those courses in the first place.

So if you’d like to explore them, I’ve included a link below.

And if you do find yourself listening to one, I’d love to know which one found you.

But more than that, I’d love to hear your experience.

Because the thing I’ve learned most over the past few weeks is that beneath all the different circumstances and life experiences, many of us seem to be wrestling with remarkably similar questions.

Questions about who we are. Who we’re becoming. What we’re carrying. What we’re ready to let go of. And what it means to build a life that feels like our own.

So grab a cuppa. Hit reply. Let’s explore this more together…

What conversation are you having with yourself right now?

What are the questions you keep circling back to?

What’s the thing you’ve been quietly trying to figure out?

Because I have a feeling we’re only just beginning to discover what this little corner of the internet is really about.

I’m really looking forward to hearing back from you.

Lotsa luv, Sally xo

Insight Timer Profile Link: https://insig.ht/MZEEV0Jg13b

PS. If you haven’t heard of Insight Timer, think of it as a bit like Netflix for mindfulness, personal growth and wellbeing. A subscription gives access to thousands of courses from teachers around the world, including mine. And if you do decide to listen to one of my courses, Insight Timer pays me a small royalty, which helps support the creation of future courses.