I'm like you Dr. Pabich. While the core of my Substack is making it easy for those 50+ to live their best lives, I don't just cover strictly health and well-being topics and in my notes I expand to a lot of fun as well as outspoken short form writing. I'm interested in many topics and many things and I think it's best to just show up as who you are. People will either want to connect with you because of it or not and that's OK. So I wouldn't change anything.
Thank you, Melanie. We're all multi-dimensional but our culture doesn't make it easy to live in our fullness. I can see that one difference in our newsletters is that your message is very clear! Mine was less so but I'm honing in and this process has been super-helpful. Defining a clear umbrella that allows me to continue writing in just the way I have is a relief. Thank you for being here.
Whatever you're doing works for me. As someone else said, there is a flow-through, or throughline, a thread that runs through all of it. And I think unTamed Science is the perfect name for it. You're a trained scientist who loves living in the wild, following your instincts, adding art through words and pictures, and lending your skills where you can for the benefit of the natural world.
Thank you, Sheri, I appreciate that. In any event, it's super helpful to hear--in your words--what lands for you and how. Thank you for your feedback and for being here!
There's a season for everything. The important thing, in my mind, is to honor your journey. We can brand the single vision or we can brand ‘I’m choosing not to stay in my lane’ or we can choose to brand nothing at all. With Substack, the world is your oyster. So many possibilities.
I related to your story, honestly. I continue drifting like a sailboat without any destination. Most of the time, I don't know what I'm doing. However, I’ve decided to surrender to this experience. Trying to impose structure, schedule or agenda when I’m not feeling it, doesn't feel honoring. It doesn't sit with me well. Trusting oneself is big.
I hear you. I love writing and am having no problem doing so and keeping my promise to myself to publish each Wednesday morning. This exercise has helped validate my hunch that the struggle I was feeling was more about how to frame and describe what I'm doing than it was about actually doing it. The responses here-- plus my own epiphany--has helped tremendously. I rewrote my substack description to read:
unTamed Science. Society tried to put us in boxes. I'm trying to escape them. Lessons in flow.
Wow! I love that! Society put us in boxes. 😂 I can relate to that concept a little too well. Yes. 🙌 Many years trying to escape them. Thankfully, I feel like I've moved past that because I don't have the same need for mental health services. I've been able to shift out of survivor mode and drop into flow more often than before. Science could definitely use some taming. I love your imagination. It brings up a lot of imagery for me.
Thank you! I'm happy to hear my words are resonating with you and to hear you are moving into a place of flow. The real (natural) world has your back! xo
I actually don't feel like you're "all over the place", there does appear to be a throughline for me when I read your posts. Like others have said flow is definitely there, and the untamed adventures. What I like about your posts is that there's always a mix of an adventure, flow, wonder and awe mixed in with some science. For me that's what I know I can expect when I come here.
Sophie, Thank you for this! It's so helpful to hear from you, a reader, about what it is 'you expect to find', since this is a big part of developing and conveying a clear newsletter identity. And, of course--adventure, flow, wonder, and awe--that makes my heart swell. Thank you for sharing!
I think your lane is flow, and that your messaging is what you wrote on this post, particularly this: "We evolved to wander. To follow curiosity. To be in connection—with nature, with creativity, with awe. Sure, living in flow can be messy, it’s not always easy, and there are real costs. It also seems, at times, to make people uncomfortable. And, yet, I wouldn’t change it for the world. unTamed Science is a reflection of this unTamed way of being, of taking the road less traveled."
Most of this post would make an excellent about me page (removing only the parts specifically related to asking your readers and that kind of thing). So maybe your newsletter title is actually something like Flow: practicing unTamed Science. Or something like that. And your mini-description on the subscribe page could be a condensation of the paragraph I quoted above.
Susan, What a great confirmation. I got there yesterday and revised my newsletter blurb to read: Society tries to put us in boxes. I’m trying to escape them. Lessons in flow.
Your suggestion to use the language from this post in a revised About page is perfect. Thank you. I will take you up on it.
Barry Lopez once said to me over lunch that he had come to feel that the best compliment he could get for his writing (and I think he was also thinking of his life) was that it was useful. At the time, I didn't understand what he meant, but I've come to think he was right. I'm happy to be useful. :)
I had the immense good fortune to teach with Barry at University of Utah in a special interdisciplinary program a long time ago, and he was very gracious about considering me as a colleague and writing friend. I wish now that I had made more time to stay connected with him over the years, but when we taught together, I was raising a kid who was just as brilliant and difficult as her father, and tending my parents, so it wasn't until Barry's last few years that we were in touch regularly. And he was still gracious and welcoming.
Staying in one’s lane is a great goal if you’re a machine. I am drawn to your honest reporting from the field, Wendy, the insights only YOU have, whether water, the Wild, or your untamed heart. As @SarahFay recently said in a call, we can know our Substack DNA and use it as our guidelines. But if our hearts call us to address another big experience or feeling, as writers we go there. Personally I think driving within the lines is helpful but, especially on uncrowded roads, not always needed. We have the wisdom to follow both the rules and our human hearts. You know, be yourself, “everyone else is taken,” Oscar Wilde and all that. You live outside the box and I want to hear both the joys and sorrows of that experience. Xxoo
Thanks so much, Becca. All of this is helping me clarify what my Substack DNA is: I'm committed to living outside the box. Nuff said. I do love that Oscar Wilde quote; it's a good reminder that we all bring our special sauce and that's a beautiful thing.
I revised my newsletter summary to: Society tries to put us in boxes. I’m trying to escape them. Lessons in flow.
Please follow your muse Wendy. I always find a nugget that resonates, and your heart-forward view point is refreshing. Yes you are a scientist but with the need of an artist to create. Thank you!
Wendy - I love this question and the way you frame it. The pressure to “pick a lane” feels like another symptom of the very mismatch you write about. Humans aren’t single-threaded; at least creativity certainly isn’t. Sounds like flow, curiosity, and range are what make your writing distinct. I come here because it feels alive, like your writing and pictures are part of a wider ecology of ideas. If anything, I’d say lean further into that. The throughline is you, not the lane.
Bronce, Thank you for this! I agree—none of us are single-threaded and my most creative endeavors do come from flow, curiosity, and range. Trying to do anything but feels really foreign to me. Your framing is really helpful. I appreciate you.
Good ask. I like your freedom of thought and movement. I would enjoy whatever you choose to share with your readers. A multidisciplinary approach is enlightening. My major in college was Multidisciplinary Social Science: Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology. So I have a bias. Thanks.
Of course, I like this answer—it’s a vote for flow. Yay! I love that you were multidisciplinary. Your combination of studies reminds me: when I was in grad school, I started off in a public policy program where my stated interest in combining science and policy was being reduced to dabbling in science. I got a masters and moved on. In trying to find my home, I looked to build an interdisciplinary program. A dean very clearly told me I’d be better off staying in one lane because otherwise, the scientists will say I’m a policy person, the policy people, a scientist. I opted to join a water science lab but chose a multifaceted research problem with wide-ranging social implications. Clearly, extracting myself from boxes has been a life through-line.
I'm like you Dr. Pabich. While the core of my Substack is making it easy for those 50+ to live their best lives, I don't just cover strictly health and well-being topics and in my notes I expand to a lot of fun as well as outspoken short form writing. I'm interested in many topics and many things and I think it's best to just show up as who you are. People will either want to connect with you because of it or not and that's OK. So I wouldn't change anything.
Thank you, Melanie. We're all multi-dimensional but our culture doesn't make it easy to live in our fullness. I can see that one difference in our newsletters is that your message is very clear! Mine was less so but I'm honing in and this process has been super-helpful. Defining a clear umbrella that allows me to continue writing in just the way I have is a relief. Thank you for being here.
Whatever you're doing works for me. As someone else said, there is a flow-through, or throughline, a thread that runs through all of it. And I think unTamed Science is the perfect name for it. You're a trained scientist who loves living in the wild, following your instincts, adding art through words and pictures, and lending your skills where you can for the benefit of the natural world.
Thank you, Sheri, I appreciate that. In any event, it's super helpful to hear--in your words--what lands for you and how. Thank you for your feedback and for being here!
Who are you writing for your community…
Or you
I would suggest you remove the idea of success and continue to be you
Let it shine!!!
Touché! Nice to see you, Koop!
There's a season for everything. The important thing, in my mind, is to honor your journey. We can brand the single vision or we can brand ‘I’m choosing not to stay in my lane’ or we can choose to brand nothing at all. With Substack, the world is your oyster. So many possibilities.
I agree, the world is your oyster, with many possibilities--and many choices! That's the harder part.
I related to your story, honestly. I continue drifting like a sailboat without any destination. Most of the time, I don't know what I'm doing. However, I’ve decided to surrender to this experience. Trying to impose structure, schedule or agenda when I’m not feeling it, doesn't feel honoring. It doesn't sit with me well. Trusting oneself is big.
I hear you. I love writing and am having no problem doing so and keeping my promise to myself to publish each Wednesday morning. This exercise has helped validate my hunch that the struggle I was feeling was more about how to frame and describe what I'm doing than it was about actually doing it. The responses here-- plus my own epiphany--has helped tremendously. I rewrote my substack description to read:
unTamed Science. Society tried to put us in boxes. I'm trying to escape them. Lessons in flow.
That about sums it up!!
Thanks for being here, Anna.
Wow! I love that! Society put us in boxes. 😂 I can relate to that concept a little too well. Yes. 🙌 Many years trying to escape them. Thankfully, I feel like I've moved past that because I don't have the same need for mental health services. I've been able to shift out of survivor mode and drop into flow more often than before. Science could definitely use some taming. I love your imagination. It brings up a lot of imagery for me.
Thank you! I'm happy to hear my words are resonating with you and to hear you are moving into a place of flow. The real (natural) world has your back! xo
I love what you are doing! Flow and structure - yep yep yep. 💜
Thank you, Linnea!! 🧡
I actually don't feel like you're "all over the place", there does appear to be a throughline for me when I read your posts. Like others have said flow is definitely there, and the untamed adventures. What I like about your posts is that there's always a mix of an adventure, flow, wonder and awe mixed in with some science. For me that's what I know I can expect when I come here.
Sophie, Thank you for this! It's so helpful to hear from you, a reader, about what it is 'you expect to find', since this is a big part of developing and conveying a clear newsletter identity. And, of course--adventure, flow, wonder, and awe--that makes my heart swell. Thank you for sharing!
I think your lane is flow, and that your messaging is what you wrote on this post, particularly this: "We evolved to wander. To follow curiosity. To be in connection—with nature, with creativity, with awe. Sure, living in flow can be messy, it’s not always easy, and there are real costs. It also seems, at times, to make people uncomfortable. And, yet, I wouldn’t change it for the world. unTamed Science is a reflection of this unTamed way of being, of taking the road less traveled."
Most of this post would make an excellent about me page (removing only the parts specifically related to asking your readers and that kind of thing). So maybe your newsletter title is actually something like Flow: practicing unTamed Science. Or something like that. And your mini-description on the subscribe page could be a condensation of the paragraph I quoted above.
Susan, What a great confirmation. I got there yesterday and revised my newsletter blurb to read: Society tries to put us in boxes. I’m trying to escape them. Lessons in flow.
Your suggestion to use the language from this post in a revised About page is perfect. Thank you. I will take you up on it.
I appreciate you. Thank you for being here!
Barry Lopez once said to me over lunch that he had come to feel that the best compliment he could get for his writing (and I think he was also thinking of his life) was that it was useful. At the time, I didn't understand what he meant, but I've come to think he was right. I'm happy to be useful. :)
Umm…“Barry Lopez once said to me…”?! I couldn’t love this more. Lucky you!
I had the immense good fortune to teach with Barry at University of Utah in a special interdisciplinary program a long time ago, and he was very gracious about considering me as a colleague and writing friend. I wish now that I had made more time to stay connected with him over the years, but when we taught together, I was raising a kid who was just as brilliant and difficult as her father, and tending my parents, so it wasn't until Barry's last few years that we were in touch regularly. And he was still gracious and welcoming.
How wonderful. It's amazing the people that carve such an indelible mark on our hearts.
I think of Barry as the definition of "mentor." Generous, gracious, deeply thoughtful, and always making time for the people he believed in.
Staying in one’s lane is a great goal if you’re a machine. I am drawn to your honest reporting from the field, Wendy, the insights only YOU have, whether water, the Wild, or your untamed heart. As @SarahFay recently said in a call, we can know our Substack DNA and use it as our guidelines. But if our hearts call us to address another big experience or feeling, as writers we go there. Personally I think driving within the lines is helpful but, especially on uncrowded roads, not always needed. We have the wisdom to follow both the rules and our human hearts. You know, be yourself, “everyone else is taken,” Oscar Wilde and all that. You live outside the box and I want to hear both the joys and sorrows of that experience. Xxoo
Thanks so much, Becca. All of this is helping me clarify what my Substack DNA is: I'm committed to living outside the box. Nuff said. I do love that Oscar Wilde quote; it's a good reminder that we all bring our special sauce and that's a beautiful thing.
I revised my newsletter summary to: Society tries to put us in boxes. I’m trying to escape them. Lessons in flow.
Thanks for being here. xoxo
Please follow your muse Wendy. I always find a nugget that resonates, and your heart-forward view point is refreshing. Yes you are a scientist but with the need of an artist to create. Thank you!
Thank you, Lawrence! I'm so glad to hear this. As a fellow artist, I know you know the need to create. And, it doesn't come from a linear place. ✨
Wendy - I love this question and the way you frame it. The pressure to “pick a lane” feels like another symptom of the very mismatch you write about. Humans aren’t single-threaded; at least creativity certainly isn’t. Sounds like flow, curiosity, and range are what make your writing distinct. I come here because it feels alive, like your writing and pictures are part of a wider ecology of ideas. If anything, I’d say lean further into that. The throughline is you, not the lane.
Bronce, Thank you for this! I agree—none of us are single-threaded and my most creative endeavors do come from flow, curiosity, and range. Trying to do anything but feels really foreign to me. Your framing is really helpful. I appreciate you.
Good ask. I like your freedom of thought and movement. I would enjoy whatever you choose to share with your readers. A multidisciplinary approach is enlightening. My major in college was Multidisciplinary Social Science: Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology. So I have a bias. Thanks.
Of course, I like this answer—it’s a vote for flow. Yay! I love that you were multidisciplinary. Your combination of studies reminds me: when I was in grad school, I started off in a public policy program where my stated interest in combining science and policy was being reduced to dabbling in science. I got a masters and moved on. In trying to find my home, I looked to build an interdisciplinary program. A dean very clearly told me I’d be better off staying in one lane because otherwise, the scientists will say I’m a policy person, the policy people, a scientist. I opted to join a water science lab but chose a multifaceted research problem with wide-ranging social implications. Clearly, extracting myself from boxes has been a life through-line.
Thank you.