from the blog

Keep Going

I finished a piece of work I’m really proud of this week.  I’ve been working on it for months, and I think the final product is really good.  I have submitted it to my dream publication, and have my fingers crossed that it will be out in the world soon.

But a week ago I realized that, though I was close to finishing it, I was terrified and starting to consider not finishing it at all.  I thought this piece was important, and I knew it could be good, but I also knew it was deeply revealing.  Thinking about people I know reading it started to make me sweat.  

I’m a recovering perfectionist, and I know that at moments like this— right before I’m about to complete something— is when my perfectionism creeps back in.  All of a sudden a million excuses for waiting to finish it come to mind.  Suddenly, it seems to make some cock-eyed sense in my mind to stop working on them.  To let them go, wither on the vine.

Which is why I want to remind you to KEEP GOING.  Keep pushing ahead in what you’re working on.  Keep leading with your heart and your truth.  Keep living from those places.  It is what we need now more than ever.

When I see someone live courageously I feel so inspired.  I think we all do.  As Elizabeth Gilbert points out in her book Big Magic, it is why we thank people who have done great work.  Because they show us what is possible.  They serve as beacons of bravery for us.  And that is no small thing.  

I pushed through past my fears because I knew I was close to the end and because I knew that I really wanted to finish it.  Both to say that it was finished, but moreso, because I thought it might be helpful to some people if they were able to read it.  

I want you to keep going on what you’re working on too.  We need that brave bold work, that example of courageous living.  Your example will help the rest of us keep going too.