I just re-read an empowering post that I originally ran here on February 19, 2021. I’ve slightly edited it and am running it again, because I think it’s a powerful message. I hope you think so too.
I’m a big fan of the Yoga with Adriene YouTube channel. I’ve been doing at-home yoga via free videos hosted by Adriene Mishler for just over two years. My practice is a little more spotty these days, but during the pandemic I didn’t miss a day for more than a year.
Why am I mentioning this on my genealogy blog? The video I did on February 19, 2021 was called Yoga for Self Doubt. It was a lovely practice with an encouraging and empowering message. I love Adriene so much, I often ask myself how I can be more like her. I walked off the yoga mat with the intention of being more empowering for my clients and the people who read my blogs. So I decided to simply express encouragement and empowerment on the blog in this post.
If you came to this website because you were confused or overwhelmed about how to organize your genealogy research, I’m here to tell you that as challenging as it might feel, you can do it. It it feels confusing, just get started and the confusion may clear up for you.
Try to let go of any fear that you’ll do it wrong. First of all, there isn’t a right way to organize your genealogy; there’s just the way that works for you. Secondly if you start on a path that doesn’t work for you, you can always tweak it.
Sometimes it can be helpful to do a do-over. Purchase some software, and start entering in your family tree, including only verified facts and citing your sources to back up those facts. That’s what I did when I abandoned my over 100 pages of hand-written (unsourced) five-generation pedigree charts about ten years ago. I take great comfort in knowing I have a solid tree (and I’m improving my source citations and gleaning more information as I work on my source documentation project).
If genealogy ever gets you down, please don’t beat yourself up. Remember you’re fully capable of getting back on course. Take a class. Sign up for the Rootstech virtual (or in-person) conference so you can have access to hundreds of free educational sessions. Keep reading genealogy blogs. Join my mailing list. Use social media to get advice or find cousins who can help.
If you have specific organizing questions related to genealogy, feel free to reach out to me via email and I’ll see if I can help. And if you have suggestions for topics I could cover on the blog, let me know.
Genealogy is an amazing hobby, but I know from experience it’s easy to feel bogged down or overwhelmed. Please don’t feel discouraged. You got this!
Leave a Reply