Hi friends!
On Sunday, we had our first of five (5) book club sessions together, and wow, did that hour pass quickly! These meetings of ours are totally casual/informal, but I thought I would share a little breakdown of what we did together, in the event it might inspire you to join us! This week, we:
- talked about the basic idea/structure of ADVENTURES IN OPTING OUT
- read the introduction to Section 1—The Base (pages 19-64 in hardcover)
- outlined the three main themes in this section (paying attention, weighing your options, and experimenting/testing out other paths you might go down)
- and then answered questions posed by the group!
And some GREAT questions were asked. Here are a few:
- How do you separate the signs you mentioned that you maybe should make a change from potentially unsubstantiated anxieties about your current situation?
- Have you or others you know ever struggled with not knowing what to “opt in” to once you opt out? For context, I know I would like to leave my job but have no idea what I would want to do next.
- It’s true that we often opt out via a negative catalyst or when things comes to a head. Do you have any processes that you go through to ‘check in’ with where you’re at and perhaps be proactive about when you’re heading down a path that doesn’t suit? Change direction before you’re at a dead-end?
- If you have already chosen the path that includes a husband and children, is it ever too late to opt out? Will it always be a half measure because you have so many other people’s paths to consider?
- I need to opt out of toxic productivity/hustle culture for sure. When you opt out from something which is where you previously found your purpose or meaning, where do you get your self-worth from?
- How do you redefine your notion of success? Traditionally, it revolves around monetary and family success. How do you feel successful without those things, by doing something different?
- If you have tried opting out in the past and it has been an absolute disaster, how do you work up the courage to try again?
Over 400 of you registered for the first session, and joined us from all over the world: Canada, the US, the UK, the Netherlands, Austria, Italy, Malaysia, and countless more countries. It was wild to see. And perhaps the best part was something I couldn’t have predicted: the incredibly open/honest discussions you were having in the chat!
I couldn’t follow along with it all, but by the end it was made clear that everyone wanted to connect further outside of these sessions. There are a few different ways you can do that:
- I’m happy to post a weekly recap like this and we can chat more here!
- I will also post this weekly recap to my Instagram profile and we can chat there!
- If you use Instagram, remember you can follow the #adventuresinoptingout hashtag + also use it on your own posts, to connect with others! I’m happy to share your posts to my stories, so more people can find you that way. :)
- One member, Melanie, also kindly agreed to create a private Facebook group for attendees to keep in touch + connect throughout the week. (A note that I won’t be in the group myself, but your conversations on Sunday proved you really don’t need me there!)
The fun news: it’s not too late to register!
We have four (4) more sessions, on Sundays at 11am PT. Also: if you are registered, you have access to replays of each session from now through to December 31st. If you would like to join us for future sessions, YOU CAN REGISTER HERE. Attendees can watch the replay of the first session + see the discussion that happened alongside of it!
We will discuss Section 2—The Viewpoint on Sunday, November 22nd at 11am PT. See you then, friends!
PS – The picture at the top of this post is from Angela, a bookstagrammer/reviewer based in Arizona. It is so dreamy, and I’m grateful she agreed to let me share it. :)
The post Adventures in Opting Out Book Club: Week 1 first appeared on Cait Flanders.