Meet Elyse Hughes | Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elyse Hughes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elyse, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
I find myself relentlessly facing this crossroads. Sometimes the difference between beyond-the-comfort-zone (in a good way) and “off” (best to evacuate) can be so subtle it’s almost impossible to pick the right path until you keep treading it for a while. As a highly sensitive person (hsp), I’ve learned to listen to what my body is telling me. Am I stressed, tight or crabby every time I think about this thing I’m considering or already involved with? Is there a general heavy, obligatory energy that looms large? Even deeper, is my anxiety the expected discomfort that piggybacks growth, or is my nervous system signaling me that this opportunity, no matter how shiny my brain has deemed it to be, simply isn’t right? When that’s the case, I gracefully bow out or shift because it will ultimately fizzle out or fail, and why waste time? I used to push through and wasn’t attuned to myself in this way. I hustled hard, pulled all-nighters and hit more walls than any person wants to admit. Never underestimate the power of regular check-ins with the body and intuition. Course correction is a true superpower because it empowers us to sustainably shift gears or redirect energies, without the drama of extremes. Because ultimately, we want to keep going. To stay. The greatest accomplishment is sticking with ourselves through the madness that is life. BUT, and this is a BIG BUT, pausing to reflect/assess, going away for a while and coming back fresh or quitting to start over, move forward differently or build from scratch is VITAL. Some of the best decisions I’ve made were a result of giving up what wasn’t working and giving myself permission to follow a more aligned course of action.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m a writer who’s just crossed over into the land of authorship with my first collection of micro blogs (short, inspired writings to brain munch). I write about my whacky, winding journey of SelfLove and trying to make it. I’ve known since third grade I wanted to be a writer, but for most of my life, I struggled to be myself (still do) and listened to naysaying and starving artist stereotypes that unfortunately came from those closest to me in my formative years. For a long time I was running in the opposite direction of my dreams and the resulting angst, coupled with a highly sensitive nature I was unaware of, wove a tapestry of struggles. I’ve weathered abuse, addiction, chronic illness, financial strain, loss, depression, anxiety and periods of deep hopelessness.

Strangely enough, the biggest accomplishments happened the most easily and serendipitously.

In 2015, I was telling a woman I’d just met at a dinner of entrepreneurs about how I’d healed my severe psoriasis through diet. “Would you like to give a TED Talk about that?” Those were her literal next words. I mean, what?!?! I would actually drift off to sleep at night to visions of myself on a stage, working out ways of saying things that felt important. But that was as far as I went with it. I wasn’t actively pursuing public speaking opportunities. But a matter of months later I was actually onstage, giving a TEDx.

Before I self-published for the first time, the editor helping me with a completely different project tragically passed away. I set up a meeting with a woman named Annick Ina who had “randomly” popped up as a Facebook friend suggestion a few years prior. As a book doula who helps entrepreneurs self-publish, I figured she could refer me to a new editor. As soon as we got on the call, it became instantly apparent that she was the very person who was meant to help me birth Come Out & Play. I was only looking for an editor! The collection had sat finished and dormant for five years! I’d had a cover designed, written the cover description . . . I even designed promotional memes and had a T-shirt made. But somewhere in there, I’d given up. Money, timing, feeling it wasn’t good enough, who knows? Four months after our initial meeting, we launched my first book Come Out & Play: Musings From The Micro Blog 1.0.

When it comes to healing challenges, I’ve embraced a sloppy mix of pure miracles, spiritual connection and persistence. But my version of persistence, involving naps, Netflix binges and roundabouts. I no longer believe in reverting, only learning. Sometimes we dip our toes back into something unhealthy or unproductive to gauge how much we’ve really changed. We can tell because of the noticeable increase in discomfort from the last time we engaged in that thing. That kind of self-kindness, the practice of dropping the self-judgment and just showing up anyway, ugly bits’n’all, has kept me in the game, creating consistently, growing exponentially, healing always.

I just hope that when people get to know me and read my writings, they can laugh or cry or relate in whatever way their heart needs so that they give themselves a freaking break. People are messy and life is confusing. We are doing such extraordinary things every day we often don’t recognize because, it’s us! Our daily routines seem ordinary, even mundane. But every single thing we do is infusing the planet with a unique energy, helping others (in more ways than we’ll ever know) and cluing us into the deeper current of our own value.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If they were hungry when they got off the plane, I’d take them straight to Tumerico. A friend did this for me before I moved to Tucson and it was one of many reasons we came to the land of Saguaros. The Cuban tacos, right? I would also order us saffron lattes and vegan pastries to go.

We’d definitely hit up some hikes. Tanque Verde Falls. Sweetwater Preserve. Sabino Canyon. Mount Lemmon. I don’t know if Tumamoc Hill would be more like a sick joke, but the view sure is beautiful and the sweat’n’tears to the top would probably bring us closer.

Dinners out: Tito & Pep, Villa Peru, Locale, Indian Twist, Postino

Casual bites: Midtown Vegan, Charro Vida, Ren, Five Points, Beyond Bread, Cafe a la Cart, Ceres Pasta (I love that we can grab some coffee, a soft serve and take some fresh pasta home for later; it carries well!), El Nene

Walk-arounds: La Encantada Mall, Botanical Garden and/or Tohono Chul, Downtown (Co-op, Coffee spots: EXO, Presta, Cartel), St. Philip’s Plaza (weekend farmer’s market), Bike Loop, Plant Nurseries: Green Things, Mesquite Valley Growers, Harlow Gardens

Chill stuff: Catching a movie at Roadhouse Cinema, driving around the Foothills and looking at cool houses, doing the Saguaro National East loop

Unique: Time Machine Museum of Miniatures, Downtown Artisans (Has it all! Shopping, Eats, Drinks, Live Music–can’t beat the atmosphere.), outdoor Labyrinth at Unity Church (Especially beautiful to walk under the moon as the light reflects off the tiles in a way that makes it glow.), driving mural tour

I could go on and on because Tucson has everything to offer. We would sit on patios, enjoy the outdoors and take in art as much as possible.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Oh my goodness. Impossible to pick just one!

The P.I.C. (partner in crime), Jimmy Paychl. The one person who has believed in me unwaveringly, even and especially when, I have deeply doubted. I’ve been blessed with someone who looks at me the way I hope to look at myself one day.

My cats. Also just cats in general! The fur babies have infused my life with all the joy, giggles and catitude that I would otherwise sorely lack.

Annick Ina. She’s the kind of person that knows 87 languages, has successfully run businesses across a variety of industries and knows all the right things at a level of depth that leaves me speechless. She ushered me into my lifelong dream of authorship with the greatest grace.

Plus the army of others that have cheered me on, lifted me up and continue to remind me that I belong.

Website: https://www.elysehughes.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elysehugheswriter/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/elysewrites

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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/elysehughes