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Dennis McCurdy's Suck It Up Cupcake
Stop Screwing Yourself and Get The Life You Want

Stop Stopping Yourself

I did it again today... that is, I had thoughts that stop me. I was thinking about how much I've enjoyed writing the book, Find A Way, and writing these weekly articles. I'm thinking about writing some longer articles for magazines. It's fun for me and I enjoy it immensely. I have read and studied my subject for years.
 
As I was thinking about this, I was asking myself why not just write a lot more and work on this career path, even part time, with an eye on the future? Immediately, I came up with lots of answers, mostly negative.
 
You don't have a college degree, so therefore what right do you have to write?
You actually flunked senior English in high school, so how can you write.
Everything I write doesn't come out perfectly.
 
Let's stop this right here and let's examine these thoughts one a time.
 
I don't have a college degree, so therefore what right do I have to write? In the first place, I don't need a college degree in order to write. What I need is a desire to write. If I have a strong enough desire then I can Find A Way to obtain all the skills necessary to write. It doesn't have to be full-time right away; it can be part time now and forever, if I want. This means I have lots of time to improve.
 
Yes, I did flunk English in high school, but that was high school, and as the saying goes, that was then and this is now. I wasn't interested in English or writing in high school. As a matter of fact, I am not sure what I was interested in back then, besides working, cars, and girls, that is. It certainly wasn't the things I'm interested in now. Okay, I am still interested in working, cars, and girls, but I have added a lot of other interests. I am interested in English, writing, speaking, and learning more.
 
Everything I write doesn't come out perfectly. The truth is everything most people write doesn't come out perfectly, especially the first time. Writing, like any other skill, is a process. Each time I do it, I get better. And every author spends more time rewriting then writing. Each time my editor, Rita corrects my writing, I learned something, as long as I'm open to learning. Maybe I'll never be a Steinbeck, and that's okay with me. If I don't work at it, I surely will never be a Dennis McCurdy.
 
When you get these kinds of thoughts, take a deep breath and say, "Stop this right now. Yes I can ..." Start disputing any negative thinking before it becomes a plague, your plaque. Turn your "can't do's "into "can do's!" Yes, you can... Find A Way.
 
Tips:

  • Start small
  • Find someone who is doing what you want to do
  • Ask for help and ideas
  • Keep learning, the more you learn the more valuable you become to yourself and others
  • Just start once you start keep moving, a body in motion tends to stay in motion


Find A Way
Dennis