When I first started the Launch Your Creative Life website, I had a "Monday Motivation" column. As time went on, it got lost as time went on but I was inspired to write a quick post today.
A few weeks ago Sheryl, one of the women in the Arête group said something that knocked me off my feet for a sec:
Your well is exhaustible. There's no end to ideas, even if something doesn't work out.
I was in the middle of a pivot. A major project I had thrown myself into wasn't sitting well with my gut and the results weren't what I needed to continue. As a result I put an end to it. To be honest, it made me a bit sick to my stomach. A lot of hours had gone into it and I felt a little bit like a failure for realizing that I was intentionally shutting it down despite the fact others thought I should push forward.
I don't know if Sheryl picked up on my discouragement, but her comment hit home with me. So many times when something doesn't work, we/I get afraid that nothing will work.
It's all over.
I'm such a failure.
I can't believe I did that.
Look how far they are. Good grief, I'm back to square one again.
Or like Charlie Brown, I put my head down, wrinkle my forehead, exclaim, "Good grief," and go for a long walk, convinced the world is conspiring against me.
But wait a minute......it's not over.
You and I aren't failures. We can pick ourselves up again and get going.
With small steps in the right direction we will see change, even if the change and the results take longer than we think or look differently than we thought they would.
After my decision to pivot, I went through a weird funk of directionless for a few weeks. I was working on stuff but it didn't feel like it was gelling. My ideas and writing and art felt stale. But I remember Sheryl's words: our well is exhaustible.
Keep dipping into your well. Take time to rest and rejuvenate. Keep going, trying and persevering. It's going to pay off.
This isn't the greatest Monday Motivation post I've written. Heck, I'm not even sure it's that cheerful. But I see too many people who've given up on their hopes and dreams and settle for rather dull, boring, and less-than-adventurous lives because something hasn't worked out.
So the "thing" didn't work out.
Move past it.
Your well is inexhaustible. Dip back into the wealth of ideas in your head and heart and keep on going.
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