Friday, November 19, 2010

What if...

Do you live with a lot of "what ifs"?? What if this happens. What if that happens. What if that doesn't happen. What if this doesn't happen. They are deadly!!! These little what ifs!! I find that they can stop me in my tracks faster than anything. "What if they don't like my book?"... Well, if I really believe that and get stuck with it... I'll never be sending that book out!! The fear of some nebulous thing in the future, that hasn't even occurred... and might never occur... keeps me stuck and keeps me from moving forward.

Yucky!! Of course, "what ifs" could also be used to inspire me to move forward. "What if they love my book!"... Mind you... there's still an "if" in that statement... which means it could go either way... and there is still some uncertainty in there... So maybe even these "what if" statements aren't all that empowering... They still leave room for doubt and indecision....

There is always a possibility out there... of something else... of something amazing... of something I can't even dream of. But I'll never know it if I languish in "what ifs"... The deadly doldrums of "what ifs".... "What if I'm wrong." Imagine if Darwin or Galielo or Copernicus or Jesus had let that stop them... "What if my paintings are all slop." Imagine if Picasso or Monet or Rembrandt had let that stop them... "What if my music is just empty noise." Imagine if Mozart or Beethoven or Tchaikovsky had let that stop them....

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