Focus on Showing Up

On 5 June, a very close friend replied to one of my Instagram stories where I’d marked 1,000 days sober, writing:

“My counting friend. Proud of you. 👏🏻”

It’s true. I'm a numbers girl! Not in the maths sense but in the marking of occasions. Counting days, years, episodes, newsletters. Today gives me another number to celebrate.

Six years of Friday Focus!

That’s 311 newsletters and reshared here as 311 blogs, each exploring a different theme but all centred around one very simple commitment: to write something every Friday.

One thought-provoking topic with one action arising from it.

When I sent the very first Friday Focus on 14 August 2020, I had no idea where it would lead. I certainly didn’t set out to write 311 weekly newsletters. I just decided to start. Then, the following Friday, I did it again. And again. And somehow, six years later, here we are.

When I look back through the 310 different topics I’ve explored, I’m struck by how much life can be captured in a single word.

Purpose. Values. Courage. Connection. Growth. Success. Identity. Belonging. Change. Loss. Love. Leadership. Freedom. Contribution. Legacy.

Some topics have been inspired by something happening in my own life. Some have come from conversations, books, podcasts, people or experiences. Some have simply been a word or idea that surfaced when I wondered what to write about that week.

Writing has often been my way of making sense of things. Friday Focus has given me a reason to pause, reflect, question and notice what’s happening, both around me and within me, and then share it with you.

So, focusing on my more most recent topics feels particularly fitting for this anniversary newsletter:

Roots

Safe Spaces

Re-Evaluation

Silver

Reclaiming

Moving

Awakening

Intentional Living

Awareness

Identity

Perspective

Each one reflects something I've been thinking about, experiencing or learning. Perhaps that’s what six years of Friday Focus really represents. Not 311 pieces of content but 311 opportunities to pay attention: to stop for a moment, to ask a better question, to look at something differently and to consider what really matters.

Last week, I wrote about Intent. This week, I’m reflecting on the intention that started Friday Focus in the first place: showing up through creating a small moment of reflection at the end of the week and coupling it with purposeful action. A moment to pause before rushing into the next one.

I’ve learnt a lot about consistency over these six years. You don’t always need to know where something is going. You don’t need the perfect plan either. You simply need to start and then keep showing up. One Friday at a time.

REFLECTION WITH ACTION

Reflection: What is something you have consistently shown up for, even when you couldn’t see where it would lead?

Action: Take a moment to acknowledge yourself for that commitment. What has your consistency created, changed or made possible that might otherwise not have happened?

Your Friday Focus

Don’t underestimate the power of simply showing up. You don’t always need to make a bigger change, find a better strategy or have the whole journey mapped out. Sometimes the most purposeful thing you can do is showing up for what matters.

So, if you’ve been here since the beginning, thank you. If you’ve joined somewhere along the way, thank you. If you read every week, occasionally dip in, reply to something, share it with someone or simply take one thought from it into your day, thank you. Please know you’ve played a key part in these 311 Fridays.

This is not the end though. There are still questions I want to explore, ideas I want to challenge, stories I want to tell and, most importantly, there’s still so much to Focus on WHY!

Six years. 311 Fridays. 311 different topics. Next Friday, I’ll share number 312.

Focus on Showing Up! Focus on Why!

Amy