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Showing results for tags 'self confidence'.
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I have been thinking about writing professionally for years now but have never managed to go through with it. Much of my trouble stems from me being a rather random thinker in addition to being unfocused and lazy. When thinking about things in greater depth, I think the problem lies deeper in my psyche. I know I am capable of writing because this is flowing easily out of my mind, through keys on a keyboard, onto the virtual page on my laptop’s screen. Throughout my life I have been quite capable in expressing myself both verbally and through writing. My experiences at high school and university attest to this fact. Only when I was a small child in The Netherlands did I struggle with writing- the physical act of putting pen to paper and creating something legible- until I was challenged by my teacher in year 4. He ‘took no prisoners’ and insisted on me producing better quality work, daubing messages of disappointment all over my untidy and messy written work: “Sloppy” appearing on nearly every page in my various notebooks. I soon learnt to put more effort in right from the start, and even though it required more thought and forbearance, it allowed me to actually go out for recess. When I moved to a new country (Canada) and new school, I found myself blossoming as a student and managed to produce such good quality work in grades 7 and 8 that I ended up with the General Proficiency Award at graduation. My diligence in the presentation and content of written work continued through high school and university. I have had some work published in university community publications too. Apart from teacher’s appraisals and input, never have I received harsh negative feedback on my writing. When I launched into my career as high school English teacher, I knew I was capable of writing and assessing the quality of others’ writing too. Incidentally, the children’s picture book I wrote for my Teacher’s College English module was enthusiastically praised by my professor who said it was outstanding. Then why did I go on putting my own writing career on hold? Why am I still struggling and procrastinating? When I dig deeper, I think it all has a great deal to do with my self confidence and its manifestation in the anxiety I experience when it comes to producing written work. What am I scared of when it comes to my writing? As my personal life coach I have been working with over the past few months put it to me (paraphrasing) “Who decides if the writing you produce is good quality?” She also suggested I pose myself the following question: “What would it take for me to set my own benchmark and not to require external validation?” Writing this blog in a public forum is my first step to acknowledging that anxiety around my writing is a concern I have. I think the only option I have is, using Susan Jeffers’ words “to feel the fear and do it anyway.” Only by putting myself and my work ‘out there’ can I move forward and progress. Every writer has to deal with criticism and rejection along the way- I accept that- and who knows, maybe the worst critic is the one I’ve always feared most: the inner one that exists deep within me!
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it's been a really long couple of weeks. i have to become proficient in a new skill by end of summer. i'm being asked/told that the way i do my job MUST change. and it must happen now. not sure if i can do it. i have never done well with change. ever. and now here is the BIG BOSS telling me that while i am among the best at what i do that he's ever worked with, i must change. i must take on tasks that haven't been mine in the past. i don't know if i can do it. i embarrassed my manager by fumbling through a presentation. in another meeting i wasn't able to provide data to back up my confidence in reaching a billing goal. i know we can hit that goal, but was unable to show why. i couldn't manipulate the program fast enough to sort the data. my confidence is shot. i second guessed almost every email i wrote for the last few days. i've been reluctant to speak up in client calls. i've made fewer calls to clients in the last few days than in the last few months. i'm hanging on, because i KNOW i'm good at what i do. i KNOW my manager wants me to succeed. but that nasty little voice in my head just. won't. stop. i need something to help raise that confidence. just one small thing to go right. a customer to say "good job." a colleague to say something. i needed to get this out. i'll be working on this over the next few weeks. so, if you got this far, thanks for reading.
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- self confidence
- mental health
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