You gotta have Faith
True faith drops its letter in the post office box, and lets it go. Distrust holds on to a corner of it, and wonders that the answer never comes. From Days of Heaven upon Earth.
Anyone who knows me, is aware I'm not an overtly devout soul; more a believer of balance, karma, yin and yang kind of girl. But, whether it is a question of your religious faith, your personal life principles or just the confidence in yourself to send that forestalled manuscript in for submission, it pays to let go of the envelope sometimes; to believe in yourself.
To have belief in yourself is more than a matter of confidence. It requires commitment; commitment to letting go, breaking free, making choices. In other words, taking risks.
Small children do this, without thought, on a daily if not hourly basis. It is their prescription for life, their blue print for learning. They are seldom afraid to move forward because they are blissfully unaware of the risks involved. They have full faith in themselves. We bigger kids need the occasional dig in the ribs to remind us that a certain level of risk taking, having a go, going out on a limb is not only healthy but invigorating and often rewards us ten fold for the effort. Have a look at the clip below to reawaken your risk realisation...
I'm not talking about free falling from the Sydney Harbour Bridge if heights are not your thing. But even small calculated risks can go a tremendous way towards reestablishing ones faith in ones self. For some reason, I thought I was unable to ever produce a magnificent pavlova Finally prompted by the fact that ten year olds could achieve this (thanks Junior MasterChef), I attempted my first pav in over 25 years. Success! Followed by gratification, followed by faith in myself to recreate it again.
Faith can be sorely tested as a writer. But it is as vital as note paper, lap tops, creativity, dictionaries, good coffee and all the other tools writers need to persevere with their art. The confidence to take risks, let go of rubbish, begin again, enter that competition, get your manuscript assessed, speak to a crowd, and reject a rejection with good humour will only improve if you believe in yourself.
To have belief in yourself is more than a matter of confidence. It requires commitment; commitment to letting go, breaking free, making choices. In other words, taking risks.
Small children do this, without thought, on a daily if not hourly basis. It is their prescription for life, their blue print for learning. They are seldom afraid to move forward because they are blissfully unaware of the risks involved. They have full faith in themselves. We bigger kids need the occasional dig in the ribs to remind us that a certain level of risk taking, having a go, going out on a limb is not only healthy but invigorating and often rewards us ten fold for the effort. Have a look at the clip below to reawaken your risk realisation...
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| Marshmallow Pavlova ~ seem to satisfy the taste critiques |
Faith can be sorely tested as a writer. But it is as vital as note paper, lap tops, creativity, dictionaries, good coffee and all the other tools writers need to persevere with their art. The confidence to take risks, let go of rubbish, begin again, enter that competition, get your manuscript assessed, speak to a crowd, and reject a rejection with good humour will only improve if you believe in yourself.Fate may be our destination, but only you can decide the route with which to travel upon to reach it.
Comments
This is a great post for aspiring writers! It's definitely a matter of having faith and persistence to keep on sending those manuscripts.
Everyone has doubt at times but I keep on reminding myself that nothing happens without the will and determination to see things through. Thanks for the timely reminder :)
I agree with everything you said especially about writers needing Faith. That's all we have to get us through the long waits.