The Ugly Podcast Lauren Alexander

In this episode, I'm rejoined by my fellow editor and twin perfectionist, Erika Steeves! We're back to talk about perfectionism but through the lens of Katherine Morgan Schafler's book, The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control, the book that asks the question: What if your perfectionism is actually a superpower?







We were both deeply impacted by this book as it aligns so well with the path we'd already begun with our perfectionism and then adding another layer of shame-shedding by transforming what had been perceived as a weakness into a superpower. How cool is that? Be sure to check out our first episode on perfectionism, Tolerating Imperfection. And follow Erika on Instagram @erika.steeves.edits.







This episode launches me into a hiatus with the podcast so I can rest and focus on my own healing for the time being. The Ugly Podcast will return in either the fall or the winter depending on how said healing goes. 🤷🏻 In the meantime, you can follow me on Instagram @scribeandsunshine. Keep making ugly things and lean into that perfectionism in new ways. I can't wait to see what we all do next!







References:The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control: A Path to Peace and Power by Katherine Morgan SchaflerGet Your Perfectionist Profile

Get ready for ugly-ception!!! In this episode, I'm joined by publisher, editor, author, and maker, Kim Werker, to discuss our parallel discoveries: that ugly art makes everything better! Kim made her discovery seventeen years ago at a fateful crafting party where, in a bout of intense imposter syndrome, she was inspired to make a hideous doll...on purpose. Ever since then, she's fallen in love with making ugly things and wants everyone else to join in on the euphoria. Sound familiar??







We talk about our shared love of ugly art, our original creative wounds, the immense consequences of having the courage to saying yes to new and scary things, and the ripple effect it has on the people in your life.







To keep in touch with Kim, you can follow her on Instagram @kpwerker, or head to her websites ninetenpublications.ca or digitsandthreads.ca. You can also buy her book, Make It Mighty Ugly, to learn more about her story and how you can integrate more ugly into your life!







References:Austin Kleon

On today's episode, I'm joined by Merle Saferstein, writer, journaler, and legacy work educator. Together we talk about the joys of journaling, how it's useful to get to know ourselves, process our messy feelings, and consider new perspectives as we navigate our relationships and worries. We also talk about Merle's work as a legacy educator and how she helps people live more intentionally by asking them to live out the legacy they want to leave behind. Merle has been journaling since 1974, and for fourteen years, she culled through her 359 journals taking excerpts according to approximately seventy topics. In June 2022, Living and Leaving My Legacy, Vol. 1, a book containing eleven of these topics, was released. The second volume will be published this month on June 20.







As the director of educational outreach at the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center for twenty-six years, Merle worked closely with hundreds of Holocaust survivors helping them to pass along their Legacy of Remembrance to hundreds of thousands of students and teachers. When she retired from the Holocaust Center, she developed a course entitled Living and Leaving Your Legacy® and teaches and speaks to audiences locally, nationally, and internationally.







You can get in touch with Merle at merlersaferstein.com and you can find her books on Amazon!







References:Gateless Writing

After a brief hiatus for my vacation, I'm so glad to bring this episode to you with my guest Gauri Yardi, a writer and multidisciplinary creative, naturopath, and creative wellbeing coach. She creates resources for tired and burnt out creatives to help regain the energy to make their incredible art through holistic nervous system care. Gauri noticed that when professionals would discuss burnout, they would talk about mindset and sleep, but rarely about the way stress impacts our body. She's determined to change that.







We discuss why it's so hard to rest, how it can be downright painful sometimes when we're used to being flooded with stimuli, and the ways we can start to care for our nervous systems using what Gauri calls the Four Pillars. Gauri's accessible approach to nervous system care sets us on the path to healing and finding a fulfilling creative practice that avoids burnout.







You can find out more about Gauri's work through the links below!Instagram: @gauri.yardiWebsite: gauriyardi.comCreative burnout quizEbook/Audiobook: A Creative's Guide to BurnoutRe.Creation Masterclass



















References:Pokey the PenguinAtomic Habits by James ClearButterflies (feat. Aurora) by Tom Odell

Sophie Cannata-Bowman is an anti-perfectionist book editor and writing coach, a playwright, theatre performer, rock climber, and amateur herbalist. In today's episode, she joined me to look at improvisation and the ways it can help us get unstuck and find a more joyful writing practice. We talk about Sophie's experience growing up around creativity and storytelling, her study of plays and acting and the ways a writer's words can be translated by actors.







In the writing world, there are a lot of rules that people want us to follow and a heavy focus on critique. But what if we focused more on opening the valves of our creativity and emotions? How far could we stretch ourselves if we allowed improvisation to lead the way rather than form and function? Maybe we'd have a little more freedom to find joy in our practice.







You can get in touch with Sophie to learn more about her coaching and editing services at sophiacbowman.com or on Instagram @the.antiperfectionist.editor.

Today I was joined by my kindred perfectionism buddy and editor of speculative fiction, Erika Steeves. We talk about our instant connection over perfectionism when we met last year, and you might hear some familiar descriptions of your own perfectionism and self-doubt that echo in your head each day just as it does ours. We discuss how ugly art has helped us build up a tolerance for imperfection--because what is perfectionism but having zero tolerance for imperfection?--and slowly, over time, we've been able to do scary things even when our bodies scream at us to cancel recording a certain podcast episode (ahem).







Erika has found comfort in focusing on the process of art rather than the product, and we discuss the irony in waiting until you CAN do something before you'll actually do it. How exactly are we supposed to get to that point if we won't start somewhere?? Perfectionists, this one is for you. I mean, this whole podcast is for you, but this episode especially.







You can get in touch with Erika through Instagram @erika.steeves.edits or through her website erikasteeves.com.







References:Creating Through Perfectionism Workshop: ko-fi.com/scribesunshine/shop