Things that keep me going
One of the questions on the author interview of my book blog tour is how I work through self-doubt and fear.�� My answer was a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. that I have written on an index card and taped to my desk: ���If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.��� Of course, there are other things that keep me going as well.�� Music, for instance.�� I have a playlist dedicated to songs that I listen to when I need encouragement.�� Idina Menzel, the queen of empowerment songs, is there twice, with “Defying Gravity” from Wicked and “Let It Go” from Frozen.�� “Odds Are,” from the Barenaked Ladies’ recent album��Grinning Streak, is also a go-to.
More important, though, is my husband Pete.�� I have an unfortunate tendency of getting caught up in the minutia of a situation and focusing on the things that are going wrong.�� Add to that my brain’s annoying habit of catastrophic thinking, and I can get deeply mired in the Artex-drowning Swamp of Sadness.�� Pete is very good at giving me perspective, which is one of the most important weapons in battling self-doubt and fear.�� As true as that MLK quote is, it is that perspective that gets me unstuck and allows me to move forward, even if all I can do is crawl.
And then, of course, there’s Courage Wolf.�� I need to tape him to my desk, too.
