"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face." --Eleanor Roosevelt
Until recently, I never saw fear as a dare to be vanquished. I more readily saw it as an insurmountable wall to be climbed over. I had always believed the risk of failing was too great for me to try new things, or to knock over roadblocks to my goals. As a result, I hated myself for being afraid to fail. What helped me to change my attitude about my fears was, oddly enough of all things, a craft show profiling a sculptor about his creative process.
After I heard them, the sculptor's words stuck with me for the rest of the day. He said, "I enjoy creating sculptures, because it challenges me to come up with new solutions." Rather than seeing problems whenever he had a piece of sculpture that was not "working," he would see each work-in-progress instead as a "challenge" to overcome. What a difference a word makes.
Hearing the sculptor's insight about his creative process has helped me to see my difficulties with producing essays for my blog, and short stories to be submitted for publication as "challenges" to master in my quest to become a published writer. Whereas before, I was always afraid my sentences were too long. Or maybe they were too short? Did I put the clause in the right place? Am I telling too much information? Am I telling too little information? Am I wasting my time becoming a writer?
Now, in lieu of being frustrated with my seeming lack of progress as a writer, I step back-- take a fresh look at why I'm frustrated, and I devise a plan to move me past my frustration. I no longer feel miles away from achieving my personal goal to be a professional writer. Instead, I find myself with a plethora of ideas to write.
My new found ease with my creation process for writing has inspired me to re-think my fears and failures in other areas of my life. Consequently, I feel more energetic, and I complete my tasks in a more timely manner. Plus, I find myself making new goals to conquer. The fear I feel is never far from my thoughts, but I no longer feel overwhelmed by the prospect of failure.
