The Secret
So I haven’t finished The Secret yet, but I think the best part about it is the reminder that negativity breeds negativity. I’ve really been trying lately to focus on the good things about people, even people who typically annoy me. There is one woman who is very focused on her clothes and her looks, and who has never been very friendly to me, and this week I thought, “She always looks fantastic” and decided to focus on that rather than complaining about her personality. It’s a small thing, but it feels good to compliment her instead of criticize her.
Every now and then I go through a self-help phase, when I feel like I need inspiration from books to get me motivated to do things I want to do. Right now I need it to get me motivated to start this tutoring business I’ve been thinking about for some time, to get my book done, and to start another book I want to write. I’ve been so lost in Babyland lately that I really need some inspiration to believe that I can do all those things, that it doesn’t have to be either/or.
Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway
I have so many reservations about all three of my projects. I am a walking wall of self-doubt. I have ten reasons I fear that the tutoring business may not work, I have a hundred why my book may not sell (or that I may not complete it), and another hundred why I maybe shouldn’t write the next book. So much fear and self-doubt. Where does this come from? I can’t help thinking that if I were a man I would have more confidence. Boys are raised to believe they can and will be successful entrepreneurs, professionals, etc. Girls are raised to clean the house and take care of children—even today. (And yet all my doctors are women, and it annoys me when I mention one of my doctors to someone and (s)he says, “Well you should ask him …” I always make it a point to tell them that my doctors are WOMEN.) Anyway, so I decided my mantra this year is going to be “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway.” I’ve never read that self-help book, but I remember the title from the early 90s. I’m not going to worry about the business or the books. I’m just going to do them and if they fail, oh well. But if they don’t—yay for me. I’ll never know until I try, and from my past experience I’ve learned that when I really put my mind to something, I usually succeed.
3 Comments
February 12, 2008 at 5:24 am
Yup. Sometimes you just have to close your eyes and do it. I wonder how people achieved their dreams before us, before there were any self help books out there! Where did they get their inspiration? Because I find myself chanting mantras, too, just to get myself through the day.
February 12, 2008 at 8:53 pm
More inspiration:
Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new…
The important thing is not to stop questioning. Einstein)
Do your practise, and all is coming. (Pattabhi Jois)
Tomato is coming. (McDonald’s in Japan)
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Either way, no reason not to try!
February 12, 2008 at 9:45 pm
My favorite is “Tomato is coming.”