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What is holding you back from doing the thing?
Worry about messing up a beautiful new blank journal?
Worry about failing at a knitting project using expensive yarn?
Worry about chipping/breaking the pottery?
Worry about staining the special tablecloth?
Worry about wear and tear making it not feel new anymore?
Worry about not being good enough?
Worry about not being interesting enough?
I recently read some comments in a Substack chat about how superbly talented many of the writers here are (so true!!), thus making commenter(s) feel inadequate to place themselves as writers in the field. They feel like imposters, not “real” writers. Imposter Syndrome is real, but who says? Who got the ball rolling on this idea that we can’t do the thing because we aren’t _______ enough? Who buys into this dogma? Yes, some professions require specific credentials, but so many do not.
I often find myself paralyzed by a beautiful blank journal or a new skein of yarn. If I feel like I’m not going to do it justice, I am reticent to begin.
Don’t let worry or lack of confidence stop you. Allow yourself the failures along the way. Waiting to be good enough isn’t going to get you anywhere except standing on the sidelines giving water to the players.
Messing up a page in your journal means you are spending time building self-care routines. There are more pages. Choosing the wrong project or dropping stitches with that expensive yarn means you are gaining practice and skill. You can rip it out and start over as many times as it takes. Chipping and breaking the pottery means you are living life to the fullest, not standing still for fear of breaking something. It can be replaced, and if it was an irreplaceable one-of-a-kind, your memories of it will endure.
I could squawk platitudes at you: Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Tomorrow is another day. Life is what you make it. Life is short.
You know what? These are all true.
Life is too short to wait. Life is what you make it, so make it spectacular. Tomorrow is another day to succeed, even if you fail today. If you don’t try the thing (nothing ventured), you won’t achieve the result (nothing gained).
So, if you write, you are a writer. If you publish, you are an author. All the pressure we put on ourselves to be "good enough" or "worthy" or "a real writer/author" comes from worrying about how we will be received and how we might fail.
Yes, imposter syndrome is a real feeling. No, it isn't necessary to consider yourself an imposter. If you write well and resonate with a reading audience, you will steadily grow the audience. As you do this, you will contemporaneously gain skill and experience in your craft. We write, not because we are trying to please others, but because we cannot otherwise quench the desire of our souls to express ourselves by pouring heart, mind, and essence onto paper/digital screen.
Whatever is the thing you have been avoiding because you think you might mess it up, stop waiting. Have a picnic and spill the jelly. Use the heirloom quilt. Take out the expensive yarn. Use the special pottery.
Get messy. Make mistakes. Learn from your failures.
Keep going.
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