Quote of the Day:  Insecurity will always rent the space it occupies but confidence will own the building and any other room it steps in. – unknown, according to quotesforthemind.com. 

InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpgWow. I love that quote. My friend JeMA and I used to say that “the committee” would hold a meeting in our heads whenever the insecurities tried to take over. They were renting space, as the saying goes, but confidence will own the building. My confidence will own it. Yes! And, isn’t that a great quote for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! We post the first Wednesday of every month. I think I’ve been with the group since Alex J. Cavanaugh started it back in 2011. I missed the very first one because it was my birthday, and I wasn’t feeling at all insecure that day! I might have missed another one along the way, so I don’t get the “perfect attendance” award, but I have been fairly faithful. It’s important to talk about your insecurities and face them. Then, master them! Become the owner of the building inside your head that says, “Yes, I can do it!” 

Do you ever listen to This American Life? I’ve known about it, and heard clips from it, but hadn’t started listening until just last week. When I was on a walk, I thought, How can I make this more interesting? I looked down at my phone and realized that I could pop on a podcast while trotting through the neighborhood. The first episode that I listened to was called Dr. Gilmer and Mr. Hyde. It was so fascinating that I stopped home for my headphones and kept walking! Yesterday, I listened to Got Your Back. It was about who’s got your back, and who might stab it. They included a story about a man who plays a game called Diplomat. It sounds like a game that is similar to Risk with a bit of Survivor thrown in with role playing and manipulation. The man telling the story said that for the World Competition, he asked a real life diplomat to help him. The Diplomat said that his opponents could sense his insecurity and would then devour him. Sort of like the old saying that the horse senses that you’re afraid, not in charge, and will then run away with you, or buck you off. Have you experienced this in real life? I have. We experience it in our creative lives as well. When we let our insecurities rent space in our heads, we lose. When we combat it with confidence, we own our destiny. The only way to combat that insecurity and build up confidence is to surround yourself with people who support you. Stretch yourself a little to find success (maybe publish something locally), and above all BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! You wouldn’t have been given this gift and the desire to pursue it if you weren’t meant to succeed.

As my kids gathered up their school supplies this year, including my big boy who went off to his 3rd year of college, I felt just a bit of envy. A part of me was wishing that I could slip on my new school shoes, load my pack with books, and start a learning something new. Education is the gateway to empowerment. You know the saying, Knowledge is power. How can you improve your knowledge today about your craft?

09-02-2014 044001PMThere I am with my three older siblings! I would be turning six that week and starting Kindergarten. I was a little nervous, and every excited, to start my education. When I walked into the Kindergarten classroom, my friend Kathy ran up to me and said, “Want to play on the teeter-totter with me?” I’ve been enjoying the ups and downs of education ever since!

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Do you remember your first day of school? Do you still have a love of learning? What are you sinking your brainy teeth into right now?