The pace of activity for my book launch on June 11 is intensifying, and I am feeling excited and anxious in equal measure. It’s scary to do a bunch of things you’ve never done and wonder all the time if you are doing any of them right! It’s scary to be signing up for podcasts and writing guest articles about how great my book is while wondering if the whole wide world of people are going to disagree (and preparing for the fact that some will). Plus, it’s just a lot to do, so I stress myself out about that, even though I know deep down that I will get it all done and that it will all be fine.

One thing I’ve been working on the past few weeks is redesigning my web site. With hired help, of course…tech issues are definitely not my strength. So what do you think? I love it! One thing you’ll notice on the site is that you can now preorder All I Know! It is very exciting, but I would also like to ask you to hold off on preordering for now. For local Bay Area people, I hope you will join me at Banter Bookshop in Fremont on June 11 for the official launch event and preorder the book through them when you sign up for the event (that information is coming very soon…stay tuned!). I will also be traveling to Denver, Orlando, and New York and hope you will join me for events in those cities and preorder books through those bookstores (again, those details are almost finalized and coming soon!).

With all of these moving parts, I have struggled to stay aligned with my goals of surrender, intention, and wisdom. I have not been as peaceful as I would like. It’s been interesting, though, because I have been very aware of the discrepancy, so I’m actually going to give myself credit for intentionality, and maybe even a little bit of wisdom, which is as much about knowing what you don’t know, what you’re struggling with, as it is about knowing anything at all. Which interestingly aligns with messages in All I Know.

I’ve been writing a lot about the book, which is helping me practice how to talk about it. It’s reminding me what I love about this story I created. It reminds me how much I love these characters. And it does tip the scales more toward being excited to share it all with you in a few short months!

The way I am trying to cope with those moments (or days, or stretches of days) when anxiety overtakes excitement and joy is by cultivating compassion for myself. I am trying. And unlike Yoda’s famous advice, I do believe in trying. I do not believe it always matters if we can actually do what we set our minds to. Sometimes trying is enough.

As Brené Brown says, I am in the arena. There are critics here, including the loudest and most annoying one—my own inner critic. Yet there is nowhere else I want to be, so I need to have empathy for myself that being in the arena is tough, and I need to call a timeout now and then. I need a pep talk from myself. I need to be kind to myself. Yoga with Adrienne helps with that. Sarah Blondin’s “Practicing Gentle Kindness Toward Ourself” on the Insight Timer app helps.

I am almost to the finish line. All I Know is almost in people’s hands. Kai and Josh and the rest of the crew are almost out there in the world. Now is not the time for doubt or second guessing. Now is the time for faith and fortitude, and I am trying.