A Conversation For Those Who Are Concerned

Good Morning Ya'll!

I feel grateful for all the support I've received from loved ones since I started posting online.

Understandably, I've also had loved ones who have reached out, concerned about how my life is going.

I thought it would be fun to create a pseudo conversation, that would provide context to what's going on.

I hope you enjoy.

THE CONVERSATION

Loved One: Hey Cam! It's been forever since we last spoke. How are you?

Me: I'm doing really well! Life feels like it's moving fast, thankfully, it's all in the right direction.

Loved One: I'm glad we're finally talking, because I've been worried about you.

I read all of your newsletters and watch most of your videos, and I'm concerned that you aren't doing well.

Me: Yeah, I completely understand.

Thank you for your support and for bringing up that you're concerned. What in particular has you worried?

Loved One: You've talked a lot about how you've struggled in the past.

Your past struggles with anxiety, depression, and addictions.

I know you well, but I had no idea you were going through this.

And now, some of the letters you post make it clear that life is going a million miles an hour.

You're not getting enough sleep, and I'm afraid that you're moving too quickly and will burn out or make poor life decisions.

Me: Thank you for sharing that.

It means the world to me how much you care and are willing to bring it up to me right now.

Although life is going well, it's still not perfect.

I'm feeling a lot of growing pains that come with a life that's so unorthodox and moving quickly.

To be completely honest with you, I'm being vulnerable on the internet for a reason.

I believe that a lot of the suffering I've faced in my life, same for many others, is the suppression of these feelings.

To many, including my past self, I felt like I needed to be perfect at all moments.

That's why society's default answer to "How are you doing?" is always, "good".

It's never the truth, like "ehh, today's been pretty shitty."

For most of my life, I felt as if I needed to be a certain way to be accepted by others.

I've recently realized that was just a story I've created in my head.

Once I rewrote that story, it felt like a huge emotional weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

My old fear of being seen in negative states such as sadness, anger, or fear caused much of my internal suffering.

Now that I've gotten to the root of why that existed, I've been able to let that go.

Loved One: Okay, that makes more sense. But why do you feel the need to share it with the world?

Me: Because I'm crazy, haha.

Nah, to be honest with you, I want to normalize it.

When someone steps forward and tells the truth of their life experiences, the good, bad, and the ugly... It gives permission to others to do the same.

It normalizes the truth of what we're feeling, that today may not be our best day.

It's okay to not always be okay. That's just part of being human.

Loved One: Okay, I can wrap my head around that.

I've seen a lot of content recently where you admit that you're fearful, anxious, and confused. Is that how you're feeling?

Me: Yes. Most definitely.

That being said, it's not the predominant emotion. Fear and anxiety aren't consuming my entire life.

To be completely honest, I feel better than ever. Life is feeling more and more like what I've always dreamed of.

That being said, that's not what I've been able to portray well so far in my content.

Because I see so many people that are afraid of showing that they're having a hard time, I've overcorrected that within my content.

If you had a camera following me 24/7, you'd see that these undesirable emotions are really only taking up like 5% of my daily emotions.

So yeah, I'm sharing a distorted view about how my life is going, which makes sense why you're worried.

I've tried so hard to show others that "It's okay to not be okay", that it's not an accurate depiction of how my life is going.

Loved One: So are you currently feeling anxious and confused?

Me: Yes, but it's the minority of my life.

Throughout the vast majority of my day…

I feel gratitude for the present moment, with all signs pointing to an even brighter future.

Despite that, I'm still human. I still have fear.

It's funny, much like in Alcoholics Anonymous, the first step toward recovery is admitting to others that we have a problem…

Sharing that we feel fear and anxiety with others somehow makes these feelings lessen, if not completely evaporate.

It's like the moment we speak it, it no longer has weight over us.

Loved One: So, life is good? You're feeling okay?

Me: Haha yes. Life is good. I'm feeling better than ever.

Thankfully, now more than ever, I have a support system of great people around me.

I feel very confident that I know what it will take to continue living a happy life while striving for my goals.

But if I ever slip up, I have people that are there to catch me.

Loved One: Well I'm glad to hear that. You have no idea how happy that makes me.

Me: Thank you. I love you so much. Thanks again for all your support.

CONCLUSION

I appreciate your concern. I understand it's coming from such a loving place.

I'll do better in giving a more accurate depiction of how life is going.

It means the world to me how much my Love Letters Family cares.

That's it for today.

I hope you know that you are loved, and you're enough.

See you tomorrow,

I love you all.

- Cameron Hogan