Today I’ve been distracted by conversations with the youngest about uni open days, wondering if I can eek out another week or so of my fringe getting in my eyes before I have it cut and reminders about my eye test tomorrow morning which reminds me I have the dentist in the afternoon.
I’ve been distracted by the arrival of a dozen purple Curry’s branded t-shirts now hanging outside in the breeze ahead of a charity walkathon my husband is doing at the end of the week to raise funds for Digital Poverty Alliance. I’ve been distracted by flies finding their way into the house through the open kitchen door yet seemingly unable to find their way back out the same way.
I’ve been distracted by a neighbour’s chicken deciding to have a mini break in our garden and trying to persuade our spaniel Toby that chase the chicken isn’t a thing.
This is a regular situation.
So many thoughts yet too few of them directed to where I want them – writing a note about how the first step of writing your personal brand story or About page is Clarity.
The irony isn’t lost on me.
And the frustration is that I have the writing prompts and exercises. The questions, guides and frameworks. I’m deep in planning my ‘Reconnect your personal brand story’ workshop’ (2 July 2026, book your place here) and working hard to shepherd my thoughts into a whole that makes sense – to you, to me, to anyone.
But the more I try and think, the harder I look for clarity, the further away I drift.
It’s why I look to others to help me find this clarity.
This workshop is for you, and it’s for me.
I guess accountability is the word and after six odd years of attending a variety of workshops online and in person, I can say hand on heart that the brightest of lightbulbs go off when I’m in the company of others.
The fuzzy headed feeling isn’t far away when you’re thinking about your story on your own.
Even if you know that getting your big picture story clear in your head and on screen will give your messaging strong foundations and a shape and consistency that will give you and your audience confidence, it can be hard to do on your own.
Writer’s block – your head knows what you want to say but the words don’t always make sense when they make it to the screen. You freeze, the words lose conviction on the way, they get muddled or sound a little vague.
Imposter syndrome – how dare you make those claims, those bold statements about your hard earned experience and expertise?
Where to start – How do you pull these moments and experiences together so that they make sense to you, and the people you want to talk to.
How is this a story – how do these disparate moments and memories become a story with a beginning, middle and end?
With others though? You feed off their energy, their questions, their presence. Encouraging and emboldening others is infectious, in a good way. Offering words of support to others rubs off on us. Putting a date in the diary is a commitment to yourself, and creates momentum. It turns a big thing into something more manageable.
There’s something about that shared space and experience that lands differently.
So why not give it a go.
