Voices We Must Not Listen To

I have let myself be plagued by negative voices my entire life. Notice I said I let myself be plagued. Because that kind of negativity only has the power we give it. 

Oh, it was quite a chorus:
You'll never amount to anything
You must be writing something in all those little notebooks

Some of these even took over my own voice and became a toxic Inner Critic:

You're not good enough or talented enough. You're just not enough.

There were the silent voices which appeared as actions: when my first feature article appeared in an international daily newspaper, my father couldn't find the time to go buy a copy and read it.
Another self-proclaimed fan of mine pressed me to read my stuff many times, but wouldn't be bothered to read my magazine article when it came out.

Such is life. I thought I'd outdistanced these deflating, hurtful darts. But as it happens to many of us creative types, I was challenged with periods of depression because I'd made so little progress, to my perception.

At one point when I was severely low, newer, harsher voices came in the guise of well-meaning friends trying to cheer me up, and making attempts to be supportive: 
"Well, what about Zora Neale Hurston---she wasn't famous until after she died." Really? Wow
When I came forth out of my darkness to share my small accomplishment in submitting a script to a potential producer, it was met with: "That's good, but remember, even if you NEVER make it..." I'm sure there was something better to lift me up after sending be back down to the depths, but I stopped listening after "NEVER."

Then there was the time when another friend asked me to tell him my news, and I shared that I was excited to have submitted a piece to contest that I thought was a good fit. His response? "Well, it's not ACTUAL news unless something comes of it." Enter long incredulous whistle here.

Don't get me wrong, we writers and artists of all kinds need people in our lives who will bolster us up and encourage us not to give up, no matter what.

But damned if we don't need to be our own loudest cheerleader---our own best friend.
And that's why I was finally able to drum into my own thick skull:
I AM ENOUGH!!!

That's the only voice we need on a looping replay. Because in the end it must always be about the work, the process, and the joy we find therein, whether it's writing, painting, sculpting, acting, or art of any kind. That's all there's every really been. The rest is secondary. 

Now get back to work!


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