Enjoy the journey 🌍
Allowing the story to take shape
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I seem to be at a sentimental stage of life where every bumper sticker and motivational Instagram post I read seems to have a frustratingly accurate resonance. Despite being adorned in glitter on the t-shirts of yoga teachers everywhere, I have to admit: these banal slogans speak the truth.
The adage I keep returning to lately? “It’s about the journey, not the destination.” The cynic in me has trouble even typing those words without a heavy eye roll, but in my experience, it’s just… true. We’re conditioned to believe that if we just achieve this goal, buy that thing, arrive at this place — we’ll be happy. Actually it’s a delusion that keeps us from enjoying what’s right in front of us.
How does this translate to radio? Right, I’m getting there. I recently started a mentorship through AIR (highly recommend it). Early on, my mentor remarked that I was a little too focussed on the end product. Before we even got to discussing what my nebulous ideas were, I was already trying to nail them down into a particular format: would this be a six-minute story, a documentary, a new podcast?
My mentor gently encouraged me to not get so wrapped up in a final outcome and just start digging in: researching, finding characters, speaking to people — all the while paying attention to what interests me.
Working without any idea of what form the story might take is fairly new to me. As a freelance online/print journalist, I pitch very specific stories to specific outlets with specific audiences. Often I’ll tailor my ideas to calls-for-pitches that have very clear requirements. I know what the end game is. And maybe I’ve been too restricted by this approach. It feels new and a little uncomfortable to be guided by my curiosity alone.
That’s where the bumper sticker cliché comes in. I usually know, in a general sense, what the destination is, and I’m focussing my energy on getting there. But in allowing the story to just take shape, I’m freed up to really be present with whoever I’m speaking to. I’m learning to enjoy each step of the process: every conversation, gathering bits and pieces of tape, uncovering information — no matter where it leads.
I’d love to hear about your process and how you’re guided when working on a new project: let me know.
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What I’m listening to
🎧 It’s been a bit of a mixed bag in my headphones this week, including: the latest season of Griefcast, featuring interviews with comedians and other celebs about how they handle losing a loved one; a reliably charming Thanksgiving-themed ep of Home Cooking; Sharon Mashihi’s one-woman show Appearances; and lots of On Being’s Poetry Unbound (I particularly enjoyed this ep featuring an Irish-language poem by Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill).