First off, I want to say THANK YOU to the fabulous people who stopped by yesterday to meet Beth – you guys are awesome!!
Next, today’s post: Walking THROUGH fear (no matter what demons lurk in the shadows)
It is no secret that I chat with my online writerly buds. A Lot. Some times we talk about our latest works in progress, book dealings, that sort of thing.
But most of the time, we wind up talking about….FEAR!
That’s right, we talk about what we are freaking out over, what the monsters we deal with look like, why they are our monsters to begin with. No matter we start off talking about, it pretty much always comes back to this.
I think it is just an aspect of the creative personality – that tendency to live life in extremes. And with extremes, comes fear. Every.Single.Time.
But here’s the thing, while fear itself is no big deal…we all experience it…you can’t let your fear STOP YOU from achieving your goals.
So whether it’s finishing that first (or second, or fifty-third) novel, submitting that piece of flash fiction into a contest, querying agents, or anything else…..
YOU MUST GET PAST YOUR FEAR AND DO IT!
JUST DO IT!!!
After all, nothing ventured, nothing gain…right??? You do no one any good by stopping short of your goals due to fear – least of all yourself!
How do you conquer your fear?
I am reminded on the mantra against fear from the book Dune, by Frank Herbert.
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
OOhhh….I loved that book….and that quote! THANK YOU!!!
Love this! I wonder if knowing fear is part of what makes us write? Knowing the monsters at gut-level translates onto the page and gives us something to write about.
I think it does…it’s that person experience with the monsters!!! THANK YOU!
Yes, fear. Fear is the mind killer. I love that. But, nobody’s mentioned the juice that stains the lips…LOL!
:D!!!
Querying agents is less terrorifying than coming face-to-face with a poisonious snake. Only one is deadly. The other can only destroy your dreams if you let it. 😀
HA! Love that!
I huddle under the covers and decide to read a published book instead. 🙂
Actually, I’ve been dealing with this a bit too, and have just recently decided that being afraid of _____ (failure, suckiness, etc) is a waste of energy. So now I go play with the kidlets for a bit, get my mind off things then go back. A day at a time and moment to moment, because things change and what you fear right now may not be what you’re so afraid of in 15 minutes.
Words of wisdom Windy…words of wisdom 😀
😀 yeah…what’s our new mantra? Suck it up and do it! LOL I say that to myself constantly now. And it’s a good thing I have you to push me through the fear, cause sometimes just saying it isn’t enough ;-D
*wink*!
Great post! And how funny that everyone added a smiley face. ha!
Um, girl scout cookies and chatting with you. Works every time! Okay, most of the time. Yeah, most of the time.
girl scout cookies….now I’m going to obsess on those all night! Yummy