I am addicted to fear. Not the kind that compels me to watch slasher-movies and visit haunted-houses and ride the biggest roller-coasters at a theme park. Those experiences are more nauseating than exhilarating by far.
I'm the kind of fear-aholic that feeds on my own insecurity. The big "what if" has been my constant companion for most of my life, always there to tell me the cold, hard truth about myself when my dreams start to get a little too lofty. I know I'm not alone in this, but let's face it, there are people out there that are way better at handling it than me. That's part honesty, part symptom of my addiction. Yes, there are better, braver writers out there. However, I've manipulated myself with those thoughts, to points where I don't allow myself to believe that I'm capable of that level of success. Writer's envy sets in. I want that life. The free-lancing, kick-ass blogging, work-from-an-amazing-loft-downtown kind of writing life.
But I fear being mediocre.
I fear that I will half-ass everything and that people will notice.
I fear that I will do my absolute best and people will still believe that I half-assed everything.
I fear that I am incapable of following through with anything.
I fear that there is a better way to spend my time than trying to "be a writer" and I just can't see it.
I fear that I am committing to myself to too many things to be successful at even one.
I fear that if I deny one opportunity to focus on another, I will make the wrong choice.
I fear that time will go too fast for me to accomplish my goals for my career.
I fear that I will always long for parts of my past instead of being happy in the present and working towards new opportunities.
I fear that I'll be too busy chasing the wrong opportunities to notice when the right ones have passed me by.
When I'm being honest with myself, I know that my writer's envy and my fear are only there to consume me and steal my talent away from the capability that God gave me. I don't want anyone else's life, just my own. The restlessness and the fear and the self-judgment are what I'm going to purge in 2011. And in it's place, I'm letting my dreams and passion have free reign.
I don't know when exactly I finally came to this decision, but sometime in 2010 I finally began to articulate what it is I want to do. I want to be a storyteller. I want to tell amazing, true stories of people's lives. Stories about people that have conquered illness, tragedy and their own fear. Stories of tremendously talented people that are casting out their insecurities and confronting their creativity.
2011 is the Year of the Blog for this writer. With the help of some talented friends of mine, you'll begin to see some changes around here. And with the help of some of my other resolutions [being more organized and vigilant about my schedule] you'll have a lot more to read.
In the meantime, I'll leave you with a list of the most inspiring posts I read in 2010. These are the posts that helped me realize: I have nothing to fear but fear itself. The anecdote: Honesty. Sharing your story in order to encourage others.
Stuff Christians Like:
The Ordinary.
The Soft X
Facebook Feeding Frenzies
Kendi Everyday:
Fearless
Create a Working Closet: Part 3 - Organize
Kendi and Bryan's Dream Report: Week 1
Hooray:
Elizabeth Gilbert + Creativity
And my complete list of blog love, the ones I read OBSESSIVELY:
Making it Lovely
Kendi Everyday
Better Off Wed
Stuff Christians Like
What I Wore
Makeunder My Life
baum-kuchen
A Cup of Jo
To My Wife
Thank you to all of you bloggers and writers out there who continue to share your story and assure people like me, that yes, it's possible.
"Do not worry if you have built your castles in the air.
They are where they should be.
Now put the foundations under them."
- Henry David Thoreau
They are where they should be.
Now put the foundations under them."
- Henry David Thoreau
1 comments:
I wish I could write like you. Not exactly or specifically but with the passion and vigor in which you write.
By writing along with you this year it's my hope that my own writing will strengthen and my vocabulary will become larger and my passion greater.
I like the quote you posted at the end. It's like building from the ground up. How does that song go…"how firm a foundation." It's the foundation that is the support of the house and it's the foundation on which relationships are built. Could the foundation of writing be the first thing we are told to do: an outline? It’s the outline that the story is built up from. I remember doing outlines in Jr. High. They’re boring and, in my opinion, the hardest part of the writing. Once an outline is formed are we allowed to deviate from it? Are we allowed to change it? I say, yes. I’m guessing that educators would say, no, emphatically, of course.
Thank you for accepting my writing challenge. I look forward to your weekly wisdom and inspiration.
Sally
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