A Discernment Experiment
One year since moving to Substack
If you’re new around here, welcome! Today’s post is a little out of the ordinary compared to usual - I hope you’ll enjoy this peek behind the scenes.
It’s been nearly a year since I made what felt like a big change in my business: moving my newsletter over to Substack and trying out this new model of both a free and paid option.
My work is to help people learn to discern well and live more intentionally, which means that those themes underlie everything I write, here and elsewhere.
A big part of healthy discernment is an experimental mindset, and the willingness to actually try things out for a while before pausing to reflect. That’s what I brought to this Substack move. I said I’d try it for a year and see what happened. It was a discernment experiment.
It’s now the “see what happened” phase, and today I thought it might be fun to share some of my reflections with you as an example of what discernment can look like.
The Experiment
This particular situation—moving my newsletter to Substack—had both an external (other people) and internal (personal) component.
I wanted to share all kinds of ideas about discernment and decision-making with more people; I wanted to test out a new business model; I wanted to experiment with audio; I wanted to see if writing weekly was sustainable; I wanted to “meet” new people who were interested in similar things; I wanted to stop worrying about tech.
In many ways, this experiment might be considered a “success” and in some ways, it may not. I put “success” in quotes, because the binary idea of success and failure doesn’t really apply to discernment. Embracing an experimental mindset means that the primary thing is not to succeed or fail but to learn more as you go along.
So here’s some what I’ve learned in this particular path of discernment so far:
About Me
>> When it comes to thinking, writing, and talking with others about discernment and decision-making, I haven’t yet run out of ideas. I started down this road, publicly and intentionally, in 2018 and I’ve still got more to say – which surprises even me. This area is still sustainable, and it’s been good to check in with myself about that. I’m not sure if a weekly essay remains feasible, but regular writing of some kind will stay on the docket for this coming year.
>> Much of my writing is the fruit of conversations with my wonderful 1:1 clients, and the people who ask questions in live workshops. (If you think working together might be a good fit, just hit reply and we can plan to hop on a free 30 minute call.) I’d like to continue to do more of this work.
>> Writing more led to more writing, both on my personal substack and external publications. It’s also led to more of you reading! This kind of fruitfulness is a good sign for me. (Is it obvious? Maybe. But sometimes doing something more actually just leads to exhaustion or anxiety.)
>> Audio is something I don’t mind doing, but I also haven’t gotten much feedback on it. The jury’s still out on that, it seems. (Do you have strong feelings about audio? You can reply straight to this email.)
>> I’ve really enjoyed featuring other people’s discernment stories. I love hearing about how others are choosing to live creatively and intentionally outside the box of a single job description or career-defined life. (I’d like to do more of this, but some of it depends on you! Are you living outside the box? Hit reply and tell me more.)
>> I’ve loved the conversations that have happened in the comments section. Learning how others discern, hearing how certain ideas resonate (or don’t), seeing what common things pop up over and over - this is all really valuable. “Meeting” people online is unusual for me, but so far I’ve really enjoyed it. I’d consider it a win.
>> I’ve had a small but faithful group who decided that they wanted to pay for extra content and join in conversations about discernment. It’s been awesome! But it also hasn’t grown, and that has me re-thinking whether or not it’s a good business model for me. It’s probably not, for now, anyway.
>> The tech here is simple, which is largely a pro, but also occasionally a con. I thought it would be the holy grail of tech to have everything super straightforward, but it’s not because I can’t do some of the things I want to do. If I’m honest, I think I’ll be wrestling with tech for the rest of my life, so I’m trying not to let it be a huge factor in my discernment either way. Easier said than done!
That’s about me! But here’s what I’ve learned about you, my readers:
About You
>> Cultivating Clarity is read in 40 countries and 44 US States! I’m amazed to have such a wonderfully global readership.
>> Most of you - a whopping 95% - read my words in your email inbox. You aren’t on the Substack app or engaging in the comments section. Many of you probably didn’t even notice the move to Substack. I have small cohort of extremely faithful readers (my dashboard tells me that you open everything! Wow!) but, like me, you seem to tend to prefer to read quietly, without comments or replies. As a fellow introvert, I get it. And I am so grateful for everyone who trades their precious time to read what I write. What a privilege. Thank you.
>> Most of you are also not into surveys :) but those of you who are have left some really uplifting and interesting comments: thank you!
>> Most survey respondents want to read more about practical decision-making skills (84%) and reflections on the spiritual art of discernment (80%). This was great to hear, because it confirms the areas where I’m already inclined to keep writing.
>> When I asked “which of the following interests you?” The most popular answers were: a book; a podcast; printable journals & workbooks; and self-paced online courses and workshops. This leaves me with some food for thought - I’m still chewing it over. :)
Discernment never happens in a vacuum. It happens in relationship with God, and relationship with others. I’m delighted to have you here at Cultivating Clarity, and I hope you’ll continue to read along in the coming year.
If you have specific questions or topics you want to see me write about, would you let me know in the comments or by replying to this email? Thank you!
And if you’re curious about my work, you can read more here:
Kerri- Congratulations on your one year here. Btw, I love your emphasis on discernment. But more importantly the art of it. Not many realize that it isn’t always innate and given. It’s the disciplined act of chiseling. Wonderful!