Do you want to stop me from trying something new? Just make me face the reality that my first attempt won’t be perfect.
Do you want to stop me from getting better at something new I’ve tried? Just show me how much better everybody else’s work is. Show me the best example of that work from someone else and then wait while a voice whispers, “See? You’re not good enough.”
I’m a quitter. The twin demons named Fear and Shame stand guard over my dreams. They taunt me. As long as I stick to things I find easy, they leave me alone. But when I look at my dreams again — or if I dare to start working toward one of those dreams — they spring into action.
“You’re not good enough,” Shame hisses. “Look how good all these other people are. They’ll laugh at your incompetence.”
“You’re going to do all this work and find out you have no talent,” Fear whispers. “You’re better off doing what you already know how to do. It might not make any money, but you’re good at it — so you won’t be embarrassed.”
I listen to these demons — and then I quietly find a thousand reasons not to do the things I want to do. It happened again this week.