Currently the podcast is going well, but it also feels like the right time to reflect on where it is, where I am and what's next?
I am delighted to say the podcast currently has 241 episodes available and the next three episodes are already recorded. So as we close in on 250, I find myself asking that question I often do "what is the purpose" of this conversation and of the podcast?
Increasingly I find myself trying to measure what I say, because after almost 250 episodes I fill like I have likely already said the things I wanted or needed to say. I have expressed my views and shared my lived experience.
I have been amazing, delighted and honoured to have conversations with over 110 (wow! I had not checked that for a while) different people, and to have been able to share those conversations with my listeners.
In that time so many other podcasts and podcasters have taken up the opportunity to share their insights and conversations, does mine still have a place? As many of you know, I started my podcast as an extension from my blog. The blog's purpose was very much being my own space to share my insights, struggles, experiences, successes and activities. The podcast became a place to share in a different way, and mostly to engage with other people and share different conversations, sure I'd add in my thoughts and occasionally have a '20 minute' episode where it's just me, but the focus was to be other people's journeys, insights and our conversations.
Personally I have found increasingly life takes more time and different commitments and responsibilities have also meant I have less time than I did when the podcast started around 5 years ago. Who knows what next year will bring, maybe I'll change jobs, maybe we'll move, you don't know the future; but where and what is the podcast now?
That's the question I have been asking over the last month or so, those thoughts even made it into one of those '20 minute' episodes. And here's where I am.
The podcast remains a sense of huge pride and a privilege.
The podcast still has the purpose of sharing casual conversations, with a focus on mental health and wellbeing.
I enjoy the mix of conversations from personal stories with struggles and successes, general discussions around wellbeing and mental health, being introduced to projects, campaigns, services, research and very occasionally wellbeing products.
I like the method of having an audio offering that is more consistent and potentially more accessible for people to listen to and share.
I like that the audience gets to be the third person in these conversations listening in.
I also like the move to fortnightly episodes, that has been more manageable and allowed me to enjoy the process much more; by removing some of the weekly pressures.
I still am not that keen on the emails and the arranging episodes. Admin support would be great, though then I would run into my other problem, trusting people. But that's another conversation.
Almost 250 episodes in, and looking forward to the next 50. Let's go one milestone at a time.
Thank you for reading and hopefully for checking out and supporting the podcast. You can download and subscribe via most podcasting platforms (including Apple Podcasts and Spotify). If you feel like it, please also leave a review, it helps other people find the podcast and our conversations.
