(Spackling through the denial)
Now that you have worked on how you define yourself, let’s talk about why you had difficulty describing who you are. The second question that needs to be addressed is:
Are you denying who you are?
If you find it hard to define yourself as an individual, then you are in turn denying who you are.
Why is that? What stops a creative/author from saying “I’m an author” instead of “I’m married to so and so…. I work at…”.
It ties into defining yourself. So, if you had trouble with the last blog post and you are still trying to define yourself, let’s talk about why you are denying yourself the right to say you are an author or creative.
Being an author, I attend a lot of events and speaking engagements. It never fails when I am at one of these someone will come to me and say something to the effect of “I wish I could write, I have this idea but don’t know how to put it on paper.” “I’m trying to write a book and get past the first page.”
What these potential authors don’t seem to understand is the fact that they have already done the hardest part of writing. They have admitted out loud to someone they have an idea they believe to worthy of a book and want to write it.
It’s not the idea of being an author that scares them, it’s the process of writing the book.
This fear is a major stumbling block in defining who you are as an author/creative, as well as a major contributor to your denial about what you really want to do.
Why is that? Why do people fear saying out loud, “I’m a writer.” “I’m a creative.” What is it about those phrases that make a person almost ashamed to say it?
Is it the follow thru that is expected after the exclamation? Maybe. The thing that you must remember is this; people who are not creatives do not understand the process and will not understand why you make your proclamation without having a single finished work to your name.
It is not up to them whether you are a creative or not. IT IS UP TO YOU! If you have any creative idea floating around inside you then YOU ARE A CREATIVE.
Stop denying who you are. That idea is eager to get out and show you what the two of you together can do. Let it out! Let it lead down the path you have wanted to be on all this time. Tell the world you are a creative, you are an author. Tell them now! Be you! Be who you were created to be. Stop letting the expectations of others get in the way. GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY!
Go write. Go paint. Go play the guitar. Go dance. JUST GO!
