Knowing Others Struggle with Self-Doubt: Friday Feature
Self-doubt rears its ugly head when I least need it. I've been writing for years, but only been public about it for a year. I am 39 years old, and I still send almost every piece I write to my mom or husband to see what they think. I struggle with the is-it-good-enough syndrome. Even hitting the publish post button causes me angst.
What does this have to do with the best thing I read this week and our Friday feature? In the last few weeks, I wrote several guest post contributions, posted my first flash fiction piece, and wrote a very revealing article. I was drained. Each time I hit send and let the piece go, I cringed and wondered. Today, I stumbled upon an encouraging post by lovely Blogathon leader, Michelle Rafter: When it comes to story ideas, trust your gut.
In the post, Michelle talks about an idea she hesitated to pitch. At the last minute, she added it to a list of other pitches. Much to her surprise, her editor loved it. The post did well and was picked up by MSNBC.com and later inspired a The Washington Post blogger to use it as a basis for a post. She trusted her gut.
This post came at the perfect time for me. Michelle is an amazing writer, and gives back so much to the writing community (like the amazing Blogathon). Yet, she still has moments of self-doubt.
I spoke of self-doubt in a recent article. A few weeks ago, I participated in a Coach Betty radio show about finding inner beauty. After the show, Betty asked if I would write an article about my feelings. I hesitated. The show was hard enough, could I pull off an intimate article about the experience?
Please take a moment to check out my Coach Betty article. It's raw and honest. She loved it. Guess we all can relate in some way to self-doubt. Now I just need to work on believing in myself. The worst you can ever hear is, "No." Not my favorite word, but I can handle it.
When did self-doubt threaten to overtake your plans? What did you do?
What does this have to do with the best thing I read this week and our Friday feature? In the last few weeks, I wrote several guest post contributions, posted my first flash fiction piece, and wrote a very revealing article. I was drained. Each time I hit send and let the piece go, I cringed and wondered. Today, I stumbled upon an encouraging post by lovely Blogathon leader, Michelle Rafter: When it comes to story ideas, trust your gut.
In the post, Michelle talks about an idea she hesitated to pitch. At the last minute, she added it to a list of other pitches. Much to her surprise, her editor loved it. The post did well and was picked up by MSNBC.com and later inspired a The Washington Post blogger to use it as a basis for a post. She trusted her gut.
This post came at the perfect time for me. Michelle is an amazing writer, and gives back so much to the writing community (like the amazing Blogathon). Yet, she still has moments of self-doubt.
I spoke of self-doubt in a recent article. A few weeks ago, I participated in a Coach Betty radio show about finding inner beauty. After the show, Betty asked if I would write an article about my feelings. I hesitated. The show was hard enough, could I pull off an intimate article about the experience?
Please take a moment to check out my Coach Betty article. It's raw and honest. She loved it. Guess we all can relate in some way to self-doubt. Now I just need to work on believing in myself. The worst you can ever hear is, "No." Not my favorite word, but I can handle it.
When did self-doubt threaten to overtake your plans? What did you do?
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