Hello, hello, hello!
Welcome to my newsletter-- the space where I'll share weekly notes about life, relationship science, stress, modern tech, and wellbeing. Just trying to help.
Well, I did it.
After a year of waiting for the right time and after many requests, I finally made a Substack. I’ve had my eye on this platform for a while and, admittedly, migrating my work always felt like a daunting task.
I guess putting anything out into the world in order for it to be critiqued, judged, and received has a vulnerability attached to it. As a creative person, I experience stressful thoughts and feelings often. Sometimes it is exhilaration and sometimes it is fear. This is a common element of the creator’s voice and it is not evidence of why I should stop making, writing, and creating. So, here I am.
The purpose of this post is to introduce myself and share my intentions for this space. First: I want this to be a place for deeper thinking, solution-finding, and self-reflection. As a therapist, I’ve become really good at facilitating a process of change and I can’t wait to share more of that here. Second: I want this to be a space for non-thinking, non-solutions, and other-reflection. At times, I will invite us to consider the complexity of a topic, not because I wish to sound smart but because I believe in letting things be layered, rich, and multi-dimensional. In therapy, this is a duality we hold space for; many things are true.
My name is Jake Ernst and I’m just trying to help. I help people navigate the stress of modern life so they can feel good, think clearly, and make choices that support their wellbeing. I’m a naturally curious person and I ask a lot of deep questions. These big questions often drive a lot of my writing and personal reflection. It also informs how I show up as a therapist, friend, partner, brother, son, and colleague. Like all of you, I come to this work with a story (more on that in the future, I hope).
Why I do this work.
I want to live in a world where people feel safe to be who they are with the people they love. I do this work as an active contribution to the wellbeing of others. As a therapist, I help people process hardship and build the skillsets they need to create a life they’re proud of. As a person, I try to practice what I preach (You should know that I don’t always get it right).
I believe self-development is for all of us, which is why I’ve been writing and building community on Instagram and Facebook for the last four years. I envision a world where everyone has the skills and capacity to deepen their knowledge of themselves so they can live, build, and create a meaningful life.
Some may call my vision and purpose too fluffy or unrealistic, but I don’t think so. I hope we all make it and I believe we all have an inherent capacity for growth, goodness, and gratitude.
My personal values.
I have three north-star values which help me put my why into action:
Authenticity. Being yourself means being free to express who you are, what you’re going through, and what’s on your mind. Authenticity means being me.
Connection. What’s the point of being yourself if you have no one to do it with? To me, there is no one without an other. As a social species, we need each other in order to survive. Connection means being us.
Creativity. I define creativity as an outer expression of our inner experience. To be creative is to innovate and make something with intention; an intention to express, to process, to escape, to be present, to transform, to connect. Creativity is the bridge between being me and being us.
Just trying to help.
This is the space where I’ll be writing about the themes discussed above, as well as the current trends and modern issues I’m noticing as I fumble through life. I hope for this to be a supportive offering where you can explore a challenge you’re experiencing, think more deeply about a topic, or even find a new way of looking at things. You can look forward to posts about modern stress, modern life, and modern relationships.
If you choose to be a supporter of my work (more on how to do that below), please know that I appreciate your generosity. You can keep up with my work via Instagram, Facebook, and Post. You can also check out my website and listen to my podcast, This Isn’t Therapy.
Thanks for being here.
Just trying to help,
Jake