"This Should Be Fun" — Anne Ditmeyer
Shownotes
What if fun wasn’t something we earned after we’d done the difficult, serious or important things but part of how we found our way through them?
My guest this week is Anne Ditmeyer, an American writer, creative coach and workshop facilitator living in Paris, whose work asks one wonderfully disruptive question: What if there was another way?
In this episode, we talk about
Creativity, play and why they matter beyond childhood · getting lost and learning to trust yourself · Anne’s grandfather Charles Stark Draper and the Apollo missions · our own “internal guidance systems” · questioning society’s expectations of success · why life and careers rarely happen in straight lines · dancing with discomfort · letting go of timelines · grief and allowing multiple emotions to exist at once · creating a spacious life · connection and community · perfectionism · mapping your own path · and, naturally, drawing maps on bananas.
About Anne Ditmeyer
Anne Ditmeyer is an American writer, creative coach and workshop facilitator based in Paris, France. A designer by training, her work draws from graphic design, design thinking, UX, storytelling and global communication to help people think differently, explore possibilities and find their own way forward.
She founded Prêt à Voyager in 2007 to explore the intersection of travel and design and has since created workshops including Mapping Your Path and Write Your Own Rules. In 2024, she self-published her first book, OVERRIDE! What If There Was Another Way? A Pocket Playbook for Possibility, which she also wrote, illustrated and designed.
Anne describes herself as a “creative connector”, and her work is grounded in curiosity, experimentation, human connection and a willingness to shake up the status quo, sometimes by asking people to draw maps on bananas.
Anne Ditmeyer — website & work
Mapping Your Path
OVERRIDE! What If There Was Another Way?
Books & people mentioned:
Priya Parker — The Art of Gathering
Tina Roth-Eisenberg / CreativeMornings
This is A Thought I Kept — Weekly conversations about the ideas that stay. Listen every Monday morning for a new thought to hold onto this week.
About Claire Fitzsimmons
Claire is the host of A Thought I Kept, a wellbeing writer, author and the co-founder of If Lost Start Here. As a Certified Coach and Emotions Coach Practitioner, Claire helps people navigate the everyday lost moments and all the feelings, from anxiety to grief, overwhelm to disconnection.
Buy Claire's first book, If Lost Start Here: Wellbeing for the Anxious, Disconnected or Uncertain here.
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Find out how to work with Claire here.
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The music for all episodes from August 10th was made by Leon in the Wilderness.