July has arrived and I’m over the halfway point through my summer break. Yet, I still have many thoughts on something I heard at the end of the school year some five weeks ago.
The end of the school year is full of celebration and reflection. A tradition in most high schools is for the graduating seniors to write some sort of advice for the yearbook. A local radio show did a couple of segments on this topic: one sharing what they wrote for their yearbook once upon a time and one about what they would write today knowing what they now know.
Something that was said has stuck with me these past weeks. The host shared something to the effect of how successful people never ask for permission or acceptance to be successful. He talked about how a lot of people work on things privately, or not at all, because they don’t want other people to know in order to avoid weirdness and awkward conversations.
How true is this! How many people today haven’t even taken the first step toward their dream or even a hobby because of the risk of failure or having to explain themselves to other people.
Failure is inevitable, especially when starting something new. But having to explain or justify why you’re not successful can be tough.
For years and years, I never shared my love of writing and desire to someday publish my work. I stuck a toe into the water on Facebook years ago, but I had a code for what I was doing—“Plan B”. I know, right? How silly was that! I don’t even know what Plan B was supposed to mean except that I was working on something for me but I wasn’t ready to share it yet.
Then I finally got over it. I realized that I don’t need someone else’s permission to be a writer. No one needs the approval of others to work toward their dream, start a new hobby, or to try someone new.
Our journey belongs to us alone.
I want to believe that most people in this world are kind and encouraging. There are some who’ll mock you, roll their eyes, or make things awkward (Why don’t you have an agent yet?). But don’t let the few stand in your way of doing what your heart yearns for. Your life is not their journey. Don’t let decades pass you by because fear of failure has you stymied. As the big 4-0 looms over the horizon for me, I realize just how many years I’ve lost because of fear of failure or because of what other people thought of me.
Start today. Make a list. Get the ideas out of your head and make them real. What new hobby do you want to try? What adventure is waiting for you? What is holding you back?
Oh, and if I had the chance to tell my 18-year old self something, it would be this: Spend more time looking inward and trusting in yourself than looking for outside validation.
Leave a comment What would you try if you knew you wouldn’t fail?
Not so bad …
It’s no surprise that I like words. I like reading them, writing them, and looking at beautifully lettered projects.
So, I decided a while back that I was going to teach myself calligraphy. Because what’s one more project and hobby?
For those of you interested, here’s the blog (The Postman’s Knock) that I discovered. It’s fabulous and walks you through calligraphy step-by-step. This blog recommends starting with “Faux Calligraphy”. The recovering Type A in me thought, I don’t want to start with Faux anything. If I’m going to do this, then I’m doing it right. Give me the dip pen right away!
But I’m a recovering Type A (parenthood will do that to you). And I can learn to take baby-steps. So I grabbed my Pilot G-2 like the post says, printed off the practice worksheets, and started with my faux calligraphy.
Well, I suck at it.
I have beautiful cursive handwriting so this should have been an easy thing to pick up. Nope. It’s hard. I couldn’t get my curves just right. Things didn’t flow like I thought they should.
It was toward the end of the school year that I first started this new venture, and I didn’t need anymore stress, so I set aside the practice sheets for another time. If you know teaching, the end of the school year is the second busiest time of year and I didn’t need another stressor.
Fast forward to after school let out. My schedule was more open and my head clear.
I pulled out those practice sheets thinking I’d give it another go. And you know what? They weren’t quite as bad as I remembered. In fact, I nailed it with a few of the letters. Maybe I could actually do this. Maybe I could pick up faux calligraphy and then eventually move on to the real deal with a dip pen. Hmm.
Surprise. This post isn’t actually about calligraphy.
It’s about taking a step back, getting some breathing room, and looking at things with a fresh perspective. Maybe, just maybe, things aren’t as bad as they seemed at first.
Sometimes they are. Sometimes the news is bad no matter how much space you give it. But most of the time, it’s not. Most of the time we can’t see just how good things are because we’re too close to the situation.
I find this with my writing all the time. I have what I think is a fabulous idea, I write it, read it, and then shudder. What the hell was I thinking?! This is garbage! I toss the notebook aside and move on with my life.
Weeks, even months later, I pull it back out and think, Hmm. This isn’t so bad. In fact, some parts are really good. Maybe I can work with this.
Space to think, to breathe, and try something new is a good thing.
It’s true what they say about the grass on the other side. Sometimes we need to step away from our own lawns for a bit to really appreciate the beauty in our lives and see just what we’re capable of.
I’m not giving up on calligraphy. I don’t suck at it. I can learn to write beautifully hand-lettered projects.
I believe in myself. I believe in you, too.
What projects are you struggling with? Do you need space so you can then appreciate the beauty of your capabilities?
2 Comments Not so bad …
3 Comments Doing the Work
Leave a comment Middle-Grade Ghost Stories