Unleashing Inner Strength: Celebrating 30 Days of Podcasting – NaPodPoMo

In today’s episode of Self Powered Healing. I’m going to be reflecting back on this whole experience of National Podcast Post Month. This is the 30th episode I’m publishing for the month of November in 2024. So I’m just going to be reflecting back over the month and celebrating that I actually finished.

I’d really like to tell you that it was fairly easy and that it wasn’t a challenge at all to me, but it was a challenge and it was intended to be a challenge. I think that’s what it’s all about is called asking you to stretch and grow.

I admit on day 13, I began to question whether I should just stop or should I go on? This is the third time I’ve attempted. And I was bound and determined to get it done somehow, some way.

By day 17, I began contemplating what I would talk about on this last episode. And that’s when I began making these notes for this one. Talking about some of the things that I’ve learned. And this was by day 17. I think that this whole experience has healed my relationship with creating a podcast. I had struggled back in 2019 and 2020 with the podcast concept and getting it to work for me. And even though on day 17 I felt frustration, because there were so many things that needed to be done, I was much more comfortable with the creation and delivery than I had been in the past.

I used to have to make like a bunch of recordings. I didn’t even know how many and editing was like a nightmare because of all the things I had to edit out.

There was also a conversation on Facebook with Jennifer Navarrete on day 17. There’s a Facebook group strictly for NaPodPoMo conversations. And on day 17, Jennifer asked, “Am I the only one who is getting week three vibes just a bit early? These last few days have felt very week three-ish.”

I had never gotten as far as week three, so I wasn’t sure, but I said,

“If by week three vibes you mean ‘questioning your sanity for ever having signed up for this, but you’ve published 17 episodes already, you have to keep going. Yes, but I’m losing my mind and I really want the rest of my life back, but look how far you’ve gone already?’ Then yes. I’m getting those vibes.”

To which Jennifer replied, “Yep, that is exactly how it feels.” That was a relief.

On day 18, I talked about resistance to healing and it got me to thinking about my own needs and the realization that self powered healing is a lifelong journey. It’s being ever vigilant and fighting that ego that wants to keep everything just as it is.

By day 19, I had decided that I was in for the count. I only had 11 episodes left and I was going to make it.

Here’s something I wrote in my journal on day 21, But I’m pretty solidly going to make the subject of the last episode about the healing aspects of doing this. Like, I’ve healed my relationship with the creation process. It no longer takes me a week to produce an episode. Can you believe that? It used to take me a week and I was crazy. I burned out because of that. And while NaPodPoMo has definitely been a challenge, along the way I’ve learned to realize when my stress level is too high and when I need to back off. It has been a bit of a roller coaster, even still.

On the other hand, one morning this week, I woke up and wasn’t able to recall what I had planned for the day. Which was a good thing, because it showed that I was able to actually occasionally compartmentalize it and have some good rest.

Day 23. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but NaPodPoMo was a spinoff from something, in a sense a spinoff, from something called NaNoWriMo, which is National Novel Writing Month, which is also in November. The goal of NaNoWriMo is that you write 50, 000 words in a month, because 50, 000 words is the average length of a novel.

I’m a writer at heart. I’ve written every day for the last 3, 000 plus days. And I did my own NaNoWriMo, although it wasn’t in November, it was in May of 2020. I wrote 50, 000 words, just over that– 50, 800 and something, I believe it was. And for me, it was easier. On the other hand, I didn’t write anything that had to be published. Whereas this challenge is requiring that I publish it.

And I’ve definitely been challenged by NaPodPoMo. I haven’t had a challenge, I haven’t really challenged myself in a long time, and I don’t think I’m the same person that started this challenge back in, well, I started mid-October.

Something I’ve seen while talking about healing for a month is that challenging yourself to do more and be more and grow more can also be healing. I’ve also learned to be very flexible. I had this neat little outline of what I was going to talk about each day for 30 days. And as I went along, some of them just didn’t pan out.

And not only was I able to pivot quickly, but I was able to come up with more ideas. So I wasn’t stuck trying to put a round peg into a square hole. I would just go find another peg that would fit.

Now we’re at the end. This is the 30th episode. I’m actually doing this on the 25th of November, recording this. But I’ve made it. I count that I’ve made it, even though it’s not published. It will be. And I will be rewarded with bragging rights and a badge to put on my website and socials that says I did this.

But I’m finishing it up as a different person. I’d love to tell you it was easy. That was not the case. I started out strong, feeling like that little engine that could that said “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can,” but somewhere in the middle, I began to question my sanity. I thought about quitting.

For a few days, I was like the little engine being dragged up the hill. But lately, it’s all been downhill, and I’m just saying I thought I could, I thought I could.

Thanks for being here through all of this process. I will be back. I won’t be publishing every day, and I might take a few days off before I publish again, but it’s definitely been a fun ride. Bye for now.

Thanks for listening today. You can visit SelfPoweredHealing.com/november2024 to find all the episodes for NaPodPoMo. Leave a comment too, if you like. Thank you to all that have been a part of this 30 day challenge. Beginning in December, I’ll be returning to my less intense schedule, publishing three episodes each month, at least. I also will have more healing stories coming up.

Stay tuned.

By the way, Self Powered Healing is still looking for interviews with people who want to share a story of healing. Do you have a healing story? I would love to hear about it and see if maybe you could share it on our show. So if you’re interested in sharing, then visit selfpoweredhealing.com/share to schedule a chat.  

You aren’t committing at this point. You’re just having a chat with me to see what’s going on. It will be confidential unless or until you decide you want to share. And if you get there and there’s not a convenient time for you, send me a message because we’ll always find a time.  

And remember this always,  