The other day, my dentist told me that while most people need to get their teeth cleaned every six months, I’m so good at brushing that I can go an entire year.

I felt like the teacher's pet with a shiny gold star, but at the same time, I left the office certain she says that to all her patients.

It wasn't until later, when someone commented, "Whoa, you have an honest dentist," that I realized, Hey, wait. Of course she doesn't just go around telling people they ought to go to the dentist LESS!

It was a genuine win, and I was doing everything I could to talk myself out of accepting it.

The same thing happened when I got my first paid subscriber on Substack. I assumed they had made a mistake, or were confused about how technology works, or perhaps they were drunk. Then, more people signed up, and the drunk ones stayed for a second, then a third month. As much as I didn't want to accept it, people might actually find value in my words on a page. Drunk people need good writing, too.

All of this leads me to a very important question.

Why do you think it's so hard for us to take the win, Reader?

I know this behavior is not unique to me because of recent conversations I've had with other creators.

So, it got me wondering. Is this a creator thing? A female thing? An anybody-with-a-pulse-who's-not-a-sociopath thing?

Regardless of which subsect of humanity happens to be plagued by this Playing Small Syndrome, as I'm calling it, I'm making it my mission to put a stop to it in 2025.

In fact, let's start right now, by taking the win that we survived another year - an election year - which is nothing to sneeze at. You're here, you're keeping it together, and you haven't bludgeoned anyone with a Himalayan salt block. That deserves champagne.

But let's not stop there. What else do you have to celebrate?

Are you convinced the only thing you've got going for you is NOT getting eaten by wolves?

I beg to differ.

Read this and come away with dozens of reasons to throw a parade for yourself.

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​A Simple Way to Make 2025 Your B*tch​

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And, if you feel like supporting a small business this holiday season, I'd love a comment on the post if you think it's any good. 🩵

Download the Annual Review Workbook As a newsletter subscriber, you get access to this PDF workbook that's part of my paid member benefits over on Substack. It will give you dozens of reasons to celebrate and help you plan your year around your multi-passions. ​ I want to make 2025 my b*tch

This is So Good I'm Willing to be Insane About It 🤪 You tell me . . . do the pros outweigh the 627 steps required to subject myself to four minutes of hell? Have I lost my mind? On second thought, don't answer that. ​ Read the story