Monday, November 20, 2017

Rah Rah! Go, Us!

I'm in the mood to do some cheerleading. (Funny, because I was never an actual cheerleader - I went to an all-girls high school and the college I attended didn't focus much on sports back then. This was waaaaaay back in the day.)

But as I get older, I find that as the holiday flurry ramps up, as the year winds down - and the end of NaNo looms large! - we sometimes lose sight of all the creativity and imagination and passion that suffused our year. Instead, we focus on all that we didn't do, all that we didn't accomplish. We feel like failures, losers.

The cheerleading part is coming, I promise!

At the holiday party, no one asks about our recently published work. During Thanksgiving dinner, Uncle Duke thinks the weather is far more interesting than our dreams. Over Christmas eggnog, Aunt Lola declares that writing is so easy - take a class, get an agent, a book deal, make some money. She doesn't care to know what we're talking about - rejection letters? Critique groups? Improving our craft? Pfft.

Yes, okay, okay. Here - finally! - are the words of wisdom I want to share -

"Self doubt. 
Imposter syndrome. 
Modesty that borders on self-deprecation. . . . 

You guys, this has got to stop. 

We have to stop talking down about ourselves 
just because we're afraid that others might beat us to it. 

We have to start celebrating our successes and strengths 
even though we still have failures and flaws. 

We have to be unabashedly awesome in all the ways that we are. 

We don't owe anyone a disclaimer for believing in ourselves. . . .

Because you are amazing, and you can do this." 
(Annie Neugebauer)

Let's not let anyone else tell us different.

Let's not let anyone else make us think otherwise.

Go, us!

(Pfft. Who needs pom-poms?)

20 comments:

  1. What a beautiful message to start the week. Happy Thanksgiving to you.

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    1. I'm so glad you liked it, Susan. Happy Thanksgiving to you, too. :)

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  2. Very good point. I'm often guilty of this. I'm so quick to point out my own failures before others can beat me to it.

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  3. Nothing better than the support of fellow writers.

    You make a lovely cheerleader, Madeline. :)

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    1. Aw, thanks, Maria. If I had poms-poms, I'd wave them at you right now. :)

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  4. Uhmm - thanks for this. I was getting ready to do a "woe is me I'm not getting anywhere with my writing" post. So instead, I'll snark about the upcoming crazy holidays and just get some words on the page. :-)

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    1. You're welcome, Lee. Now, go get those words down. I'll be heading over to read your snarky holiday post later. :)

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  5. What a great and timely post. Beating people to the abuse always seemed like a good idea...perhaps I should stop. (I mean you know it's coming, right?)

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    1. Isn't it weird how we think that's better somehow? Maybe we think it will hurt less if we do it first, build up a tolerance....

      And, yes. You should definitely stop. :)

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  6. Rah, rah! Imposter syndrome is a trap I have to remind myself not to fall into. I'm not always successful :-)

    Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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    1. If only we could fill in that trap so we don't keep falling into it. How about filling it with chocolate? Hmm, no, that won't work, not at all.... :o

      Happy Thanksgiving to you, too!

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  7. Woot! <-- my own version of the rah rah cheer. I don't often suffer from impostor syndrome, though envy and exasperation will bite me from time to time. Guess it's to be expected when one has no time, right?

    My solution to the whole affair is to just avoid my family for the holidays. :D

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    1. I like your cheer, Loni. And I think envy and exasperation bite us all now and then. And it's never a nibble, is it? They always take a big old chunk that really hurts.

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  8. It's so good to belong to writer and blogger tribes where members lift us up when we're feeling down. If we can all be cheerleaders for each other, we'll never be discouraged or unmotivated for long.

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    1. I definitely don't know what I would do without all of you. :)

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  9. Thanks for the cheerleading. I know always need a little pick me up to combat my self criticalness.

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    1. Instead of inner critics, I wish we all had inner cheerleaders who were so very loud. :)

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  10. Yes! Great quote! I'm pretty lucky, and my inner cheerleader is as amazing as I am ;-)

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