An Announcement, A Poll & A Giveaway!

Friends,

I’m going to share a secret with you, one that only a few folks know.

I’ve figured out what I want to do with my long-term career.

This idea has been sitting in my heart for a long time, glowing on and off, scaring me with its intensity, warming me with its truth.

Me right now

It’s scary to share because well, what if people don’t like it? Don’t get it? This idea is so close to my heart, that I’m very much identifying with it. If they don’t like the idea, do they like me? Which, I recognize, isn’t a very healthy response. But it’s the truth.

So here goes:

I, Katie Kronbergs, am creating an organization that hosts and coordinates empowering events and workshops for women in Austin, Central Texas, and online. Topics would include (but definitely aren’t limited to) career/life goals, self awareness, stress management, healthy relationships, finances, body image, and advocating for yourself. Name? A Road of Your Own Events. 

Through volunteering with GENaustin, I realized there was a huge opportunity to create something similar, but for adult women. This was my jumping off point. My wellness workshop last year really brought it home, and showed me that I could do this successfully AND that there is a huge need for an organization like this. Each event will have expert speakers, concrete takeaways, and a fun and supportive environment. Eventually, I’d love to get a physical event space.

I’ve already decided on my second event (the Wellness Workshop being the first), taking place this Friday night: Moon Church! The New Moon is a reminder to let go of the past and rebirth your passions, so we’ll be gathering this upcoming New Moon for a night of introspection, intention setting, and releasing past pains and stresses. Attendees will be outside in the night air, enjoying exercises, drawing tarot cards, making yummy custom bath salt soaks, burning things, and talking till our hearts are full.

If you haven’t already been invited, and would like to join us, please leave a comment! I will get you the address location asap.

For future events, I want to make sure that I’m offering the kind of workshops that you folks want and need, so please answer the poll below!

Finally, as a thank you for voting in the poll and for supporting me in this new endeavor, I want to give one of you an awesome set of goodies: the newest edition of Vagina :: The Zine (Austin based bad ass feminist zine), a postcard of a super tough vintage tattoo lady, Magic Garden: Fantastic Flowers to Color (because coloring is really soothing) and a super cute squirrel pencil sharpener! To win, just leave a comment below. Thank you friends!

The SWAG

much love,

ktk

Procrastination

Procrastination has been by side my entire life.  Paper to write?  Meal to prepare?  Project deadline approaching?  Run to go on?  Ala Honey Badger, my brain don’t care!  Why would I, when there’s that book to read, that Facebook post to comment on, Pinterest, Youtube, oh wait there’s another chapter… On and on.

There are true downfalls to this task avoidance.  It makes me late to things.  Important friend/work type things.  I don’t make that meal, and so I eat shitty chips and hummus (again), and I don’t go on that run and feel bad when my new undies arrive and don’t fit right.  I don’t write back my friends, grandma etc, and they feel hurt.

In fact, writing this post has now taken upwards of an hour, because I’ve become distracted multiple times, and have let myself slide away from the task.

Particularly worrisome to me, is that my only impetus to get stuff done is communal pressure and expectations.  “XYZ will be dissapointed if this isn’t done”, “I need to be at volleyball practice NOW people are counting on me”, “My boss is right behind me so I better actually work.”  Why don’t I have any internal motivations?  I’m rather dissapointed in myself fairly often, but the self berating doesn’t seem to have as much effect as potential external dissapointment.

I think I need a new take on motivation.

Leo Babuta with Zen Habits has a challenging post “Why Motivation Doesn’t Really Matter”.  In it, he talks about listening to your natural flow of energy, and asking yourself what you really want.   Do you really want to do what you’ve been avoiding?  And if you do want to do it, then self reflect and find out what the barriers are that have been keeping you back.

So what do I really want? I want to help people.   It’s time to work on how.

EDITED TO ADD: I think there are two main questions behind all of my procrastination: “what is the positive effect of what needs to get done” and “what am I worried will happen”.  If I can’t see the positive effect, then I’m going to procrastinate; and/or if I’m worried that I can’t do something the right way, or poorly and don’t know how to proceed, then i’m going to procrastinate.  Hopefully with researching/refocusing on helping people I will see the positive effects more often.

Being a Working Woman

My senior year of college, my friends and I went to a guest lecture by young feminists Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar.  They were touring universities and colleges in support of their book On My Own Two Feet: A Modern Girl’s Guide to Finance.  After apologizing for the publisher enforced inclusion of the word “girl” in the title, Manisha and Sharon proceeded to blow my mind.  They wanted to ensure that women – especially young women – develop financial intelligence.  They saw too many women who didn’t know how to save for retirement, set attainable budgets, understand investing and have the know how to advocate for themselves in the workplace.  Particularly, they discussed the $0.75 on the dollar pay gap, and attributed it primarily to one simple fact: women are not asking for raises like their male coworkers are.  Women have been taught that if you are nice and work hard, people will reward you, and that it is pushy to ask for recognition.

I’ve returned again and again to that fact in my adult working life.  YOU are the only person that can look out for your own career path.  Be ambitious and ask for what you need, don’t expect people to notice your effort and reward it accordingly.   This outlook is a part of my larger work behavior mantra “would it be silly and laughable if a male colleague did this/phrased this sentence like this?”  I don’t infantilize myself with email smiley faces and excessive exclamation points, and I don’t talk myself down or act apologetic when sharing my thoughts.  Apologize if you’ve made a mistake and messed something up, don’t apologize for having a thought.   I have a female coworker who, when asking questions, will always say “I guess I’m stuck on stupid today” and giggle.  Will I recommend she gets a promotion?  Not likely.  Who else is she saying this to?  It hurts my heart to think of it.

“MAKE STATEMENTS also applies to us women: Speak in statements instead of apologetic questions. No one wants to go to a doctor who says, “I’m going to be your surgeon? I’m here to talk to you about your procedure? I was first in my class at Johns Hopkins, so?” Make statements, with your actions and your voice.”
―    Tina Fey,    Bossypants

Makin’ statements WOO!