I don't think you have time to waste not writing because you are afraid you won't be good at it.
DearWriterFriend sent me this Anne Lamott quote the other day. And then a few minutes later she accused me of not believing in myself. It would hurt if it weren't true. (No, it wouldn't, because she loves me, but it certainly is true.)
I called her simply because it IS true. I had just come from a meeting that might result in some contract grant writing for me, and they asked me to submit some writing samples--pieces I'm proud of. Naturally, I panicked. I kept up my confident "I'm a professional writer" face while I was still in the building. As soon as I shook their hands and walked out of the building, my confident expression was replaced by "Holy crap, they're going to figure out I'm no good" eyes welling and throat closing off. So I did the only logical thing. I called DearWriterFriend.
For the last ten years, DearWriterFriend has been believing in me when I don't believe in me. She said all of the good friend things, encouraged me, told me that of course I was going to submit the writing samples, and called me a writer. After she was done laughing hysterically at me, of course. And then, within a few hours, she emailed me a link to a writing contest and told me I was doing that, too.
And that's what true friends are. That is how you know your friends. They're the ones who believe in you when you don't believe in you. They're the ones who tell you what you need to do in order to meet your dreams, and they're the ones who make sure you do it. Naturally, they're also the ones who laugh hysterically at you when you say, "What if I'm not really any good?" because they know you are good. Because other people believe you are good. Because maybe, just maybe, you really are.
At least until you're pretty sure everyone is about to expose you as a fraud. Then they'll answer the phone and do it all over again.
Two are better than one,Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
2 comments:
I seem to remember us both making goals about you submitting to a writing contest, and me submitting to a photography contest years ago...DO IT!
I understand this completely. While I spend so much time reminding my children that they can achieve great things, I'm too self-judging to even write my simple blog. Or wasting time measuring myself against others. Sometimes I think the verse should say, "treat yourself as you treat others." I'm much kinder to them.
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