Saying Yes to Yourself
Two weeks ago I wrote about a time I said yes that changed my life (see The Night I Said Yes To Kissing My Best Friend). My fellow writer friend Melissa Sarno wrote this beautiful blog post about saying yes to herself as a writer, after getting several no’s. If you have a moment, read it. It’s worth that 5 minutes of your time, even if you’re not a writer.
I have my own yes
and it’s the only one I need.
I love this line Melissa wrote because often we’re looking outside of yourselves for that yes. I know I’m looking for it whenever I send out a pitch to a magazine editor, writing a book, or submitting work to a playwriting contest.
I want that yes to justify all my hard work. I want the gold star.
What I love about Melissa’s sentiment is that the approval I need is within myself. Often, there’s a lot of rejection in this creative life. I used to feel crushed when my dream mag turned me down or a book I worked on for two years found no home. In many ways, I still feel the crush of rejection. It’s hard to put your time, blood, sweat, and tears into a project and get a resounding NO back at you.
But, I know I have to keep going, keep believing in myself, and keep hope in my heart. No matter what.