other people's words

When uncomfortable emotions surface like being scared or anxious or jealous, it’s easy to feel like I’m all alone. Worse, it’s easy to feel like not only is this the first time I’ve experienced that feeling (which of course it isn’t but tell that to my brain), but also, I’m the only person ever to have felt this way.

That no one understands me.

And that I might drown in this terrible feeling.

Something I’ve found that soothes me in those instances is to repeat in my head the perfect quote from someone else.

One I’ve turned to for years is: Don’t compare yourself to strangers on the internet.

There are days when this is a constant refrain. You can guess what circumstances bring it, but generally anything pretty on Instagram, any success of anyone else that I want, and so on.

And another (in relation to criticism of my creative writing) that has saved me from self-loathing: Oh, how did you do it in your book? That’s right, you don’t have one. (Thanks, Lex Martin, for that sentiment. She reminds me that it’s so much easier to be a critic than a creator. It’s easier to tear something down than to build something up. I use that quote to remind myself that even if what I write isn’t perfect, at least I was brave enough to give it a shot.)

Lately, I’ve been clinging to two new and different quotes.

I have several reasons for repeating this first quote below in my head. Old programming tells me (still) that I’m being weird by writing fiction (or writing anything other than proper stuff for my job) and I’m being too vulnerable and exposing myself too much. I could get hurt if people know this much about me. The other programming warns if I do something different than I’ve already done, no one will read it or like me.

Dolly Parton to the rescue: I’m not going to limit myself just because people won’t accept the fact that I can do something else.

Fuck yeah, Dolly.

The second quote keeps me going on those days when I think I should quit writing and sit on the couch and watch Bake Off until I’ve vicariously consumed so many carbohydrates, I don’t want to eat anything but meat and veg for the next month. On those days when I wonder why I keep showing up at the laptop, even though I know it’s often the only thing that makes me happy and keeps me sane.

Don’t quit five minutes before the miracle.

(Apparently that one’s from AA.)

I love that sentiment, because beyond the “keep on keeping on” spirit, it gives me hope. There will be a miracle. It’s GONNA BE GOOD.

What quotes do you have that keep you going? I’d love to hear them.