What if you REALLY took that break?
Reclaiming Our Focus
Hello wonderful humans,
If you've been following my sporadic series, you know I’ve been talking about our hijacked focus and the power of "most of the time.” Today, I'm taking this conversation to part 3 as I embark on my mini-sabbatical until June.
This isn't just another email about focus—it's me putting these principles into practice.
I first wrote about how "our attention has been manipulated" and that "we are conditioned to have less and less focus." Then, I explored how "the myth of hypervigilance has conditioned us to believe that we must always 'be on'" and suggested that "the antidote isn't perfect focus; it's intentional focus."
While our waning attention didn’t start with the age of the internet, our current pace leaves no time for deep, thoughtful reflection on what is real and what could be possible if we could just focus.
The outcomes we are reaping are bigger than our individual frenetic experiences — we are seeing the results play out in real time on a national and global scale.
Our attention, when focused, can be the most impactful way to make the world a better place.
As a brand strategist, writer, and catalyst, I help business owners reconnect to their "whys," explore how to lead values-based businesses, and voice their visions clearly. That’s no easy feat for any of us right now as we also struggle to make sense of our political landscapes and rapidly changing human experiences.
So I've been sitting with these questions:
Can we actually quit the things that don't align with our highest values?
Can we focus on helping humanity as a whole and still make meaningful progress?
How is the bigger pattern of scattered attention playing out and what is the impact for us all?
I don’t have the answers. But I do know that as I turn 50 next month — and go through THAT mini identity crisis — I think it's time to embrace what I've been preaching all along:
We don't have to be perfect to make progress. We are meant to be human.
We are meant to take meaningful pauses. We are meant to question what we've been told about productivity. We are not meant to just push through exhaustion. We are meant to truly honor the seasons of our attention. We are meant to focus on the “bigger things” most of the time.
Breaks don’t have to be about escaping; they can be about returning to ourselves to create the space to think deeply again, feel what matters most, and align our work with our values.
What would happen if you took a longer pause to completely reset your relationship with focus?
What conventional wisdom about constant availability and vigilance are you ready to question?
What might you quit that would actually lead to more alignment and presence?
I don’t expect you to have the answers, but I sure hope you make some time to explore the questions.
See you in June.
xox,
Michelle
P.S. If you want to see where I’m going and what I’m up to, I’ll probably post a few pics on my Instagram while I’m away.
Need marketing & branding help?
Brand Visualization, to help you deeply understand who you are now, get clarity on what makes you different and unique, and become confident using your voice consistently and coherently with stories that align with your identity and strategy.
Brand Story & Strategy, to write bespoke content for your website and marketing, clarify your offers and calls to action to align with your targets, and fully launch your voice and vision to find the people who are waiting to work with you.
Brand Strategy Support & Implementation to revise your content and brand essentials and coach you on how to strategically write & deploy content to reach your short and long-term goals.
If you want to share the love, forward this to a friend. If you were forwarded this email and want more like it, sign up here.
For more insights and interviews, follow me on Instagram here & here, TikTok, & YouTube. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn.
You are a great human. I’m thankful for you.
