Joy asked Elizabeth Gilbert:

When you know you are embarking on a life-changing creative journey, how do you handle discouragement that seems to accompany you everywhere?

Elizabeth Gilbert Joy, how can somebody named "Joy" possibly be accompanied by discouragement everywhere she goes? :) Sweet friend, I don't know where the discouragement you are talking about is coming from, but get away from it. If it's coming from your friends and family, stop telling them about your creative journey, and just go do it in private. (Or get new friends. You can't get new family, unfortunately, but you can get new friends.) Is there anyone in your life who is even remotely encouraging? Spend your time with that person. Are you discouraged because you keep getting rejected? That's OK. I have a file filled with 7 years of rejection letters; that's just part of the process. But here is my big question: Are you discouraging yourself? Are you being followed by discouragement because you are self-generating it? This is both difficult and more easy to fix. It's easy to fix, because you are the only one who can fix it. It's difficult to fix, because you are the only one who can fix it. I'm going to challenge you to take ferocious self-accountability for generating your own joy (!), your own optimism, your own self-confidence, your own determination. Because if you're waiting for somebody outside of yourself to tell you that you are worthy and precious, and that your creative journey is important and beautiful, you might be waiting for a long time. Surround yourself with good people and fill yourself with your own power, and then it won't matter in the least what anyone else says or does.

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