Finding Out Where You Fit In

It was never the usual places that welcomed me

Jan 17, 2022

Hello! Greetings from a co-working space in Brooklyn. After last week, I decided to spend some quality time away from my couch. I booked a desk at a WeWork type space and am typing away in a proper chair, downing cups of free coffee.

This is embarrassing to admit, but here it goes:

One of my major goals for 2022 is to get out more. I need to sponsor my own weekly adventures. I need to say yes to meeting more friends for coffee dates. I need to book that solo trip I've been thinking about for 1+ years.

Like an ex we know we'll get back with, eventually, I want to miss my couch and I want my couch to miss me.

In this issue: How to let go of things you love, scripts to use if you're a bridesmaid in 2022, and my favorite tech gadgets.

Why you’re getting this: I'm Jen Glantz and this is my Monday Pick-Me-Up newsletter. I've been sending it for over 8-years, every single Monday morning, to thousands of awesome humans, just like you. Thank you for letting this email live in in your inbox. It makes my heart explode with joy.

The Pick-Me-Up: Love is not enough.

When I was in the 4th grade, I didn't fit in ANYWHERE...not at school or after-school activities or clubs. Sports teams bribed me not to even try out.

My mom decided to try one more place and took me to a local ice rink where they offered skating lessons for kids my age.

I didn't fit in there either, but I was really good on the ice.

Gliding felt like poetry and poetry is what my blood is made out of.

So I kept going. I twirled when I was supposed to and jumped when the other kids were too scared to pick both of their feet up at the same time.

They kept on moving me up to higher and higher and higher levels, until one day, the instructor sat my mom down and said:

"You know, your daughter really fits in here."

In the history of my little kid years, we had never heard anyone say that.

"If she keeps coming back, I think she could be in the Olympics one day."

The next day, I quit.

Perhaps life is all about knowing when to leave something you love, just because you love it.

Perhaps life is knowing how to hold onto something dearly, even if it's not such a good fit.

Whenever I go back on the ice and lace up my skates, I think about the young Jen Glantz, who didn't fit in anywhere, being dropped off at an ice skating rink in Florida, to skate around in circles and make sense of the squiggly lines on the ice......

(Nobody is meant to JUST do what always comes easy to them. Everybody must walk away from something they love.)

...and I think to myself:

Imagine if you always did what you fit in with rather than what really fits you.

All my love,

Jen Glantz

❤️

Random Links

Play This on Repeat:

I found this song on TikTok and play it in the living room for dance breaks. It's a lot of fun!

Also, have this podcast for you if you need a quick hit of inspo.

Picked From My Shelf: The Brooklyn Follies

Picked this read from my bookshelf. I've never finished it before so I'm starting from the top. It's a fun and smooth read set in Brooklyn and so far - I'm adoring it.

Odd Ways to Ask for More Money

Let's talk about this: are you hoping to make more money from your job? I decided to dedicate this week's odd job newsletter to helping you get more money at your job - with expert help, of course. Here it is for you!

Are Millennials Messing Up Marriage?

Sort of. They are doing things their own way: pre-nups, odd registries, not getting married at all. See more here.

How to Treat Yourself Like a Business

If you need more boundaries and structure to your life, check this out. It's all about treating yourself like you are the CEO of a company called YOU.

🖤

Mini Pick-Me-Up: Share Your Irrational Thoughts

Last week I texted a good friend of mine and simply confessed this:

“I have an irrational thought. I feel like I don't have a personality.”

I know I have a personality but sometimes, as a content creator, who puts out 4 newsletter a week and a bunch of social media post, I feel like i'm being blahhhh and not expressing who I am. I'm also trying to work on a new project and the person working on it with me told me I needed to change my personality.

“Quite the opposite,” she replied. “You have too much personality.”

I found that funny because I was soaking in deep negative thoughts about how I don't have a personality and am so boring as a human. I believed this odd and irrational thought so deeply and fully.

The simple art of confessing this limiting belief knocked me out of this mindset I was drifting in and back to reality - thanks to the help of a friend who really knows me.

What is a though that is holding you down? What is a thought that you are holding onto?

Who can you share it with that will shine the light of truth you really need.

The End

Thanks for reading my Pick-Me-Up Newsletter.

I'm in Brooklyn bringing sunshine into this freezing cold apartment. LMK if you have any recommendations for songs to listen to this week! If you're on Instagram, add me here: @jenglantz. I post interesting things every day to my story.

If you're new to my emails - welcome! I promise to work hard to bring joy and motivation to your inbox every Monday.

If you have a friend (or 2) who would love to receive this Pick-Me-Up, share this link with them.

Until next time... I'll be rooting for you and cheering you on!

Have a great week.

Jen Glantz

p.s. Here's the About Me on my website if you forgot who I am or where we met.