written by
Leah Kearns

5 concrete reasons articles change life.

Business Marketing 6 min read

I don’t know what I stand for. But I do know that my answer is always articles.

I don’t know what I stand for. There I’ve said it. I’ve admitted it. I don’t know what I stand for. In business. In life. As a founder working with other brilliant business people. Who all create epic things.

Cue the feelings of inadequacy and that creeping sensation of heaviness in the pit of my stomach of being ‘found out’. The uncertainty that something is afoot.

Truth be told the thing that saves me at this point, is knowing that we all have moments like this. That no matter how certain we are in ourselves, we’re also human.

And in that one shared species trait there’s a choice.

Choose to take the journey to discover what’s up. Or not. I choose yes almost every time.

And articles are my tool of choice. Here I want to share with you the five concrete reasons that articles change life.

Alt text: Robert Frost quote in deep pink on pale pink background with two sets of illustrated flowers blooming. Quote - “Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, ant that has made all the difference.” Articles support this.
Alt text: Robert Frost quote in deep pink on pale pink background with two sets of illustrated flowers blooming. Quote - “Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, ant that has made all the difference.”

Cue the path that diverges in a wood.

One leads to even more uncertainty. Getting lost in the scroll. And falling down the rabbit hole.

And one leads to clarity. The wisdom that’s waiting within. And in that moment I already know which path makes or breaks my day.

I know that my not self loves the first path. We could go round getting stuck in that sh*tstorm day after day.

It’s a well worn path of mine. Having laid it, stone by worn paving stone for most of my life. It leaves me feeling as a victim of circumstance. Powerless to change anything. And fighting against my will. Raging at the ways of the world.

That’s not to make the sh*tstorm wrong, or separate. Instead it gives me the power to appreciate the flipside. That is the shiftstorm. I may be feeling the sh*tstorm and I am also feeling the shiftstorm. I am both.

And in my human consciousness I appreciate I’ve also committed to take the path less travelled by using articles.

Alt text: When a sh*tstorm becomes a shiftstorm. Deep golden wheat field with grey ominous clouds overhead. Woman wearing white shirt opens her arms to welcome the shift with the cleansing rain. Articles bring all this!
Alt text: When a sh*tstorm becomes a shiftstorm. Deep golden wheat field with grey ominous clouds overhead. Woman wearing white shirt opens her arms to welcome the shift with the cleansing rain.

I don’t know what I stand for. Until I’ve said it with articles.

It’s only when the words have left my mouth that I realise what I mean by something. I’m often more coherent when I’m responding to a question. I see that the meaning is made. The connection is there when I’ve ‘spoken’ it in context.

The words, gestures and sounds all reference, index and mark the direction of my understanding. Like signposts clearly guiding what I’m attempting to convey.

You know those moments where you have the thought - huh. I didn’t realise that’s what I knew about that. Or maybe even, wow. I didn’t realise how passionate I was about that.

This is the power of an article for me.

I don’t know what I stand for. Until I’ve said it.

5 concrete reasons Articles that Activate change your life

1. Now I know what’s there

It’s said “Opinion is like buttholes. Everyone has one.” When I’m sitting with a blank canvas and waiting to see what it wants me to know. One thing I do know is that it’s going to be formed from what I’ve experienced.

As a dedicated healer, a mentor and a living practitioner of her art. I know that showing up is only the beginning.

With Articles that Activate, I’ve found that they are more than an opinion. They’re a map. A base camp. A reference point to explore from. They’re crafted where intentionality and potentiality intersect. It’s at that place which you’ll find possibility, truth and the opportunity to trust yourself.

2. The light of day means I can see what’s unresolved

Holding my own hand as I meet myself through the space on the page. I get a sense in this light of day about what’s unresolved from all that I’ve drafted.

It’s plain as day as I review what’s there.

Because I’m holding my own hand, I have the sense of being able to observe while I’m still moving through it.

I’m able to move from unresolved to problems solved. From feeling separate to what’s there, to claiming the power of this possibility. This is a moment of ‘rise and shine’ for me that comes from working with articles. It gives me strength for the next bit.

3. Pressing publish

When you press publish on a piece, it offers you the opportunity to see what’s sitting deep beneath the surface.

Now that you’ve flooded your feelings onto the page. You’ve sorted through the pointy bits. And you’ve edited the peripheral fluff and boring parts. It’s time to publish.

Publishing isn’t for the glory. It’s for the acknowledgement of self.

Remember back to your not self waiting in the wings. Maybe it was already waving the white flag of resignation before you’d even begun. Procrastinating. Not willing to take a risk. Not wanting to be seen. Keeping you silent. Holding you safe. Running a program of survival. And a pattern of coping with the stresses of life and being exposed.

That deep nervous system dilemma of the way through is to feel. To know. That’s the way to come back from where you’ve been, return to your self and grow.

Pressing publish releases you from what was. What has always been. And creates space for the new to come find you.

4. Presence to what comes

In this space that’s opened up from pressing publish, you’ve also just pressed back your edges a little too.

You’ve begun to step out a new path. Forming neural connections that will reinforce your availability to letting something brand new happen to you.

Not trying to stop it. Or control it. Just going with the flow and letting something amazing unfold.

You’ve created space to be able to respond. And the more you step this path, the more it will become available to you and in support of your return to self.

You’re building your capacity for presence with what comes.

5. Power to respond

Now’s the bit you’ve been feeling most in knots about. What others might think of what you’ve shared. Back to noticing that pit in your stomach.

Or fingers crossed, perhaps not. Hopefully in your practice of publishing you’re finding your ways of noticing, navigating and responding to what comes up for you.

You’re noticing that this starts to wash over other moments in your life. The time where someone you love makes a sharp comment. The drawn out silence of the pause before support is reluctantly or unconsciously offered. The gap in conversation where what you have spoken lands a little lopsided with client.

No matter what you’re faced with, you’re also finding that you can hold your footing where you used to stumble, tumble, trip or fall.

There’s less need for dedicated down time. More air to breathe. Your ability to respond to life is opening up. Your capacity for creation is becoming abundant. Prolific even. And you feel supported with this way you finally feel it’s possible to keep sharing.

This is what’s possible with the ways articles that activate support me (and those who read them!).

Alt text: five ways Articles that Activate support me - showing steps 1-5 on neutral background.
Alt text: five ways Articles that Activate support me - showing steps 1-5 on neutral background.

Curious to work this way with articles that activate? And ready to experience what that activations means for you and your audience?

Check out the mini-course : Articles that Articulate below.

Alt text: Banner ad for catalyst short-course Articles that Articulate. Click to learn more. ‘Catalyst short-courses’ are courses that change the course of your life.
Articles that Articulate : a mini-course to find out what you have to say.

Byline: Leah Kearns
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