by Robert Griffith

Created on: February 12, 2008

Getting over yourself. That says it all. And the shortcut answer is, of course, just do it. Start writing. Write now, blow it out, put your heart and mind and honest voice into it fearlessly, without expectation, and edit later.

But you may have a lot to get over. If you're thinking about writing, you've been thinking, and thinkers tend to have a lot going on. Mental activity around emotional content. Conflicts, and an ongoing processing of their potential resolutions. Dreams, fears and expectations. What your writing should say, how it should say it, how it will be received by others. Writer's blocks.

In our beginnings we're commonly afraid of failure and sometimes afraid of success, sensitive to criticism and rejection, and often painfully needy of validation and recognition. The complete, exquisite work imagined within may not appear on the page with the same glory. It could be less than, and that will prove our incompetence to ourselves and others. It will tell us our fears were real and our hopes illusions, that the internal dark voice telling us we aren't really good enough spoke the truth and the real illusion was in thinking we could ever write anything "good enough," ever.

So what's going to help you out here? The answer hasn't changed, but here's a clarification which could help. Get over your little self. Get into who you really are. The little self fears and waffles and flip-flops and avoids and delays. Forget about your expectations for the future and write here, now. Throw away that measuring stick you're using to compare yourself to others and remember who you really are.

You have something to say in a way that no other person can. Your experience is unique, your voice is your own. You can be fearless, you can be honest, you can be informed. You are compelled to express in writing the thought, feeling and/or information you have and communicate it to others.

Remember that mistakes are signs of learning and excellence is the product of a path of stubborn, fearless practice which reveals what works and what doesn't. The little self wants to make those revelations painful and embarrassing, and given the opportunity it will deliver you to a never-changing stop light. Don't stop there. Floor it. It's a crossroads you'll encounter often on the journey, and the only way forward is to drive on through.

Once you're on the road remember it's a journey, and there are people out there with you. Some have been out there longer and have helpful experience to share

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