java_fiend (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
java_fiend) wrote2012-04-23 05:40 pm
java_fiend) wrote2012-04-23 05:40 pm
Entry tags:
Topic 24: In Your Wheelhouse
Once again, I lay my entry on the altar of the mighty Idol gods. As always, may they be kind and benevolent...
What are you good at? What do you bring to the table? What’s in your wheelhouse, so to speak?
These are questions we’ve all been asked… perhaps we’ve even asked them of ourselves from time to time. All too often though, for so many people, the answer is “I don’t know” or perhaps even more sadly… “nothing.”
Okay, so perhaps we all aren’t able to hit 450-foot bombs like Albert Pujols. Maybe we can’t throw down soaring tomahawk slams like Kobe Bryant. Maybe we can’t give Oscar-winning performances like Angelina Jolie or sing our hearts out as beautifully as Adele can or master theoretical physics like Stephen Hawking or lie your ass off half as well as Mitt Romney.
And you know what? There’s nothing wrong with that.
There are a million things we can’t do, sure. But there are things we can do and do very well. The trick is figuring out what those things are and once we do, learning how to overcome our own fears and insecurities and allow ourselves to do them.
I didn’t grow up in what you might call a… supportive or encouraging environment. To my folks, life was about working hard day in and day out and simply muddling through the day to day as we wait for the Grim Reaper to come haul our asses off of this rock. That's about all we can and should expect out of life. They believed that dreams and passions are all well and good but they don’t put food on the table, clothes on your back or a roof over your head. To my parents, job stability is everything while dreams and passions are best left to those who can afford to have them.
Needless to say, when I expressed a love of writing and the idea that I wanted to do it for a living, it was met with the equivalent of a pat on the head and a “that’s nice, but writing isn’t really work and besides, you don’t really have the talent to make it so what are you going to do for a real job?”
And for years upon years upon years, I bought into it. I shelved my passion and the idea that I could ever write and pursued solid, stable employment because that’s what is done and what life is all about. My resume is a testament to my almost pathological obsession with job stability because I’ve busted my ass and have made myself nearly indispensable to my boss. If nothing else, at least my folks gave me a very solid work ethic. The “experts” say you shouldn’t go back more than ten or fifteen years with your work history. If that’s the case, I’ll only have one job listed on my resume. Yay for stability (aka stagnation), huh?
As the years rolled by and I continued muddling through the day to day, it became easier and easier for me to believe that my parents had been right all along, that stability is everything and dreams are best left to those who can afford to have them. And besides, I didn’t really have the talent to make a serious go at my dreams anyway, right? Best to not even entertain them. Part of me believed, as they’d taught me, that we shouldn’t expect anything more out of life other than stable and steady work and just getting through the day. But there has always been a persistent, nagging part of my brain that whispered to me. It tells me that there is more out there, that I can have the life I want if I can only learn to see it and let myself reach for it. As seductive (not to mention annoying because it won’t ever shut the hell up) as that voice is and has always been though, the practical, “stability is everything” side of my brain has always won the argument.
And so, I’ve worked. Day in and day out without any significant thought to chasing my dreams or trying to make them a reality. Until I stumbled across Idol. And slowly but surely, things began to change. As ridiculous as it may sound to some, writing for this game for weeks on end and getting to interact with such a warm, encouraging and supportive cast of characters has ignited a fire inside of me that is seriously burning out of control. It made me remember how much I love writing, how much I love the act of creating worlds and people for others to explore and get to know and at its most basic level, just how much I love telling stories. It's made me remember how insanely happy it makes me. It was always there of course, buried in a box that I had tucked away in my mental attic, but until I got involved in this crazy game I’d let myself forget that it was even in there. And now that the box is open and I’ve brushed away all of the dust and cobwebs, I am seriously enjoying the hell out of playing with all of the nifty old toys inside.
Slowly but surely, over the course of two plus seasons now, I’ve gained some confidence in my writing and storytelling ability. Some days are rough. Some days I think everything I put out is the lowest, steamiest puddle of liquified cat crap that’s ever been penned. But some days, I look at what I’ve put out and think, “hey, that’s not so bad.” I still recognize my flaws and am quick to point them out but more importantly, I’m beginning to recognize my strengths, see the things I do well. There is and always will be room for improvement of course, but there is a growing sense inside of me that thinks perhaps my parents were wrong… that perhaps I do have some talent and some ability, that perhaps I can strive to make my dreams a reality. It will take all of the courage, focus and work ethic I have, but I’m finally at a point where I can say… “hey, maybe. Why not me?”
I struggle each and every day to overcome my past, my insecurities and doubts about myself and my ability. But it’s because of my own experiences and the things I’ve dealt (and still deal with) with in my life that I encourage people to chase their dreams and follow their passions. Yes, we do have to have some sense of practicality. We have bills to pay and we need to eat, this is true. But we shouldn’t allow the tedium of the day to day or the doubts expressed by others to deter us from following our hearts and our dreams. I did that for way too many years and believe me, it sucks rocks to see how much time I wasted needlessly because I was scared and doubted myself.
Don’t do that to yourselves. Don’t listen to people who are too insecure to embrace their own talents, who don’t have the courage to find what it is that they bring to the table and would rather sit back and throw stones at those who do. Don’t let them badger you into being afraid of talking about your strengths and what you do well because it makes them uncomfortable or interpret it as boasting or chest thumping. Those are their issues and things they have to overcome (or not)… don’t add their burdens on to your own. Be confident and believe in yourself.
We all bring something different, unique and special to the table. It could be writing. It could be baking. It could be sports or painting or knitting or photography or math or gardening or giving advice or any number of things. The point is that we all have something that we are damn good at. Something nobody else on this planet can do like we can. Find that thing inside of yourself that gets your blood racing and your heart pumping, that thing that sets you on fire, that makes you insanely happy, and then go balls out for it.
Chase your dreams and don’t stop until you catch them.
This has been my entry for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
therealljidol Season 8, Topic 24: "In Your Wheelhouse"> As always, thank you for stopping by to give me a read. Your support is truly, truly, truly appreciated and means a lot to me. Don't forget to stop on by the polls when (if) they open, read some of the fantastic entries and spread a little voting-love around!
What are you good at? What do you bring to the table? What’s in your wheelhouse, so to speak?
These are questions we’ve all been asked… perhaps we’ve even asked them of ourselves from time to time. All too often though, for so many people, the answer is “I don’t know” or perhaps even more sadly… “nothing.”
Okay, so perhaps we all aren’t able to hit 450-foot bombs like Albert Pujols. Maybe we can’t throw down soaring tomahawk slams like Kobe Bryant. Maybe we can’t give Oscar-winning performances like Angelina Jolie or sing our hearts out as beautifully as Adele can or master theoretical physics like Stephen Hawking or lie your ass off half as well as Mitt Romney.
And you know what? There’s nothing wrong with that.
There are a million things we can’t do, sure. But there are things we can do and do very well. The trick is figuring out what those things are and once we do, learning how to overcome our own fears and insecurities and allow ourselves to do them.
I didn’t grow up in what you might call a… supportive or encouraging environment. To my folks, life was about working hard day in and day out and simply muddling through the day to day as we wait for the Grim Reaper to come haul our asses off of this rock. That's about all we can and should expect out of life. They believed that dreams and passions are all well and good but they don’t put food on the table, clothes on your back or a roof over your head. To my parents, job stability is everything while dreams and passions are best left to those who can afford to have them.
Needless to say, when I expressed a love of writing and the idea that I wanted to do it for a living, it was met with the equivalent of a pat on the head and a “that’s nice, but writing isn’t really work and besides, you don’t really have the talent to make it so what are you going to do for a real job?”
And for years upon years upon years, I bought into it. I shelved my passion and the idea that I could ever write and pursued solid, stable employment because that’s what is done and what life is all about. My resume is a testament to my almost pathological obsession with job stability because I’ve busted my ass and have made myself nearly indispensable to my boss. If nothing else, at least my folks gave me a very solid work ethic. The “experts” say you shouldn’t go back more than ten or fifteen years with your work history. If that’s the case, I’ll only have one job listed on my resume. Yay for stability (aka stagnation), huh?
As the years rolled by and I continued muddling through the day to day, it became easier and easier for me to believe that my parents had been right all along, that stability is everything and dreams are best left to those who can afford to have them. And besides, I didn’t really have the talent to make a serious go at my dreams anyway, right? Best to not even entertain them. Part of me believed, as they’d taught me, that we shouldn’t expect anything more out of life other than stable and steady work and just getting through the day. But there has always been a persistent, nagging part of my brain that whispered to me. It tells me that there is more out there, that I can have the life I want if I can only learn to see it and let myself reach for it. As seductive (not to mention annoying because it won’t ever shut the hell up) as that voice is and has always been though, the practical, “stability is everything” side of my brain has always won the argument.
And so, I’ve worked. Day in and day out without any significant thought to chasing my dreams or trying to make them a reality. Until I stumbled across Idol. And slowly but surely, things began to change. As ridiculous as it may sound to some, writing for this game for weeks on end and getting to interact with such a warm, encouraging and supportive cast of characters has ignited a fire inside of me that is seriously burning out of control. It made me remember how much I love writing, how much I love the act of creating worlds and people for others to explore and get to know and at its most basic level, just how much I love telling stories. It's made me remember how insanely happy it makes me. It was always there of course, buried in a box that I had tucked away in my mental attic, but until I got involved in this crazy game I’d let myself forget that it was even in there. And now that the box is open and I’ve brushed away all of the dust and cobwebs, I am seriously enjoying the hell out of playing with all of the nifty old toys inside.
Slowly but surely, over the course of two plus seasons now, I’ve gained some confidence in my writing and storytelling ability. Some days are rough. Some days I think everything I put out is the lowest, steamiest puddle of liquified cat crap that’s ever been penned. But some days, I look at what I’ve put out and think, “hey, that’s not so bad.” I still recognize my flaws and am quick to point them out but more importantly, I’m beginning to recognize my strengths, see the things I do well. There is and always will be room for improvement of course, but there is a growing sense inside of me that thinks perhaps my parents were wrong… that perhaps I do have some talent and some ability, that perhaps I can strive to make my dreams a reality. It will take all of the courage, focus and work ethic I have, but I’m finally at a point where I can say… “hey, maybe. Why not me?”
I struggle each and every day to overcome my past, my insecurities and doubts about myself and my ability. But it’s because of my own experiences and the things I’ve dealt (and still deal with) with in my life that I encourage people to chase their dreams and follow their passions. Yes, we do have to have some sense of practicality. We have bills to pay and we need to eat, this is true. But we shouldn’t allow the tedium of the day to day or the doubts expressed by others to deter us from following our hearts and our dreams. I did that for way too many years and believe me, it sucks rocks to see how much time I wasted needlessly because I was scared and doubted myself.
Don’t do that to yourselves. Don’t listen to people who are too insecure to embrace their own talents, who don’t have the courage to find what it is that they bring to the table and would rather sit back and throw stones at those who do. Don’t let them badger you into being afraid of talking about your strengths and what you do well because it makes them uncomfortable or interpret it as boasting or chest thumping. Those are their issues and things they have to overcome (or not)… don’t add their burdens on to your own. Be confident and believe in yourself.
We all bring something different, unique and special to the table. It could be writing. It could be baking. It could be sports or painting or knitting or photography or math or gardening or giving advice or any number of things. The point is that we all have something that we are damn good at. Something nobody else on this planet can do like we can. Find that thing inside of yourself that gets your blood racing and your heart pumping, that thing that sets you on fire, that makes you insanely happy, and then go balls out for it.
Chase your dreams and don’t stop until you catch them.
This has been my entry for
therealljidol Season 8, Topic 24: "In Your Wheelhouse"> As always, thank you for stopping by to give me a read. Your support is truly, truly, truly appreciated and means a lot to me. Don't forget to stop on by the polls when (if) they open, read some of the fantastic entries and spread a little voting-love around!