It’s time to stop getting in your own way.
I know that can be hard. You’ve probably got a voice inside you that is mortified that you are putting yourself out there like this, placing the contents of your heart and mind out into the world for all to see. I know how paralyzing self-doubt can be, how it can trap you and pin you down and make you feel like the story or art in your head isn’t ever going to be enough. But here’s the thing: that self-doubt doesn’t know what it’s talking about. Honestly! It can’t know, because the thing you want to make but haven’t yet? It doesn’t even exist, in any form but inside your mind, until you make it yourself. And sure, the idea is perfect and polished and pure. You can envision whatever it is you’re dreaming of, the framed print of it or glossy cover that would come with it. You can imagine an interview about it or an article written to praise it. But if that perfect dream comes at the cost of your creativity, your reality, then you have traded nothingness for nothingness, and have only gained the fleeting contentment that comes with thinking sweet empty thoughts.
Photo By Nick Morris
Self-doubt can be a sneaky manipulator because it isn’t just telling you you aren’t good enough. Often, it can manifest in the form of a daydream, an ideal version of your next creative process, in which nothing goes wrong, and you’re never tired, and the result is epic and worth it. But, be it a YA novel or a knitted scarf, making something new takes work–messy work that you may not even know how to do yet. The actual hands-on process of creation will probably look nothing like the rose-colored one that self-doubt is feeding you, but if you don’t press forward, you may never get to hold your words in your hands or see your design published. And don’t you deserve to at least try?
Photo By Toa Heftiba
Dreams are nice, but they are only dreams. The real world is the one that matters. And there’s only one way to find out what you can do: try and try again. The world needs to know what it is you’ve been dying to say. So say it, make it, do it. Take it as seriously as you take your health, your schoolwork, your relationships. And eventually, it will become just as big a part of your world as all of the other things you do.
From,
Another Girl Who Believes In You