To Try or Not to Try... That is the Question
My dream has always been to be a writer. I grew up not knowing what I would write, and it didn't matter, as long as I was writing.
Then, as time went on, the more I thought about becoming an author, the anxiety and fear set in.
You begin to second guess yourself. "What if I'm not good enough?" "What if they don't like my stories?" "What if no one buys my books?" Frankly, I still have these thoughts regularly. Will I even become a mere blip on someone's radar? Or will the book/art/song I spent years developing become another drop in the well that no one will ever find?
Nobody has these answers. Not even you. Not at first, anyway.
Consider this: WHAT IF you try? WHAT IF you succeed? WHAT IF all of your dreams come true, and more? You could end up with the life you've always envisioned, doing what you love every single day.
I would rather push every ounce of fear aside, try and possibly fail, then to go through life never having tried at all. I wouldn't want to wake up one day, old and grey, and say to myself "I wish I had...". Would you?
The harder you work, the more invested you become in what you're working towards, and you'll eventually reap the benefits, even if it's not in the way you expect. It's not always about selling/profit; sometimes it's about the connections you make or what you learn along the way, which could be just as valuable, if not more.
Take that little voice inside your head that says you never can, you never will, you will never succeed, and SQUASH it! Use it to push you forward so that you live life with no regrets, with no unfulfilled attempts, with no coulda, woulda, shouldas.
What would keep you from trying to reach a goal or a dream?
Fear? Uncertainty? Worry?
Perhaps a combination of many things. Regardless of the reason(s), you must remember that none of these things can forcibly stop you from at least trying.
Tell me about something that scared you that you tackled anyway? What did you learn from it?
Until next time -
Renée :)
This post was inspired by fellow indie author, Rhian Edwards, whose video on the subject opened my eyes (and perhaps made them a smidge teary) on the true source of fear. Take a peek and follow her on all social media, she's amazing!