The Waiting
I've just finished Conversations with Tom Petty. Petty has an interesting take on music. Very readable for this slightly-more-than-casual fan. But one passage in particular stuck me:
If you start doubting yourself, you can get in that frame of mind. But you've got to remind yourself, "This is what I do. And I've done it alot. And there's no reason I shouldn't be able to do it again."
He was speaking of writer's block, but what hit me was his quote. In the late 80s life sucked. Seriously. I was not happy. I had a crisis of confidence. I figured I needed help getting out of that hole. So I spoke to a very helpful person. She reminded me that I was dragging myself down. I needed something to help me get out of that whirlpool of negative thinking. She suggested something to remind me what I was doing. A touchstone. Something.
I lose things. A ring, a bracelet, a necklace would have disappeared in weeks. I wrote a phrase. Something simple even I couldn't forget...
You can. You have. You will.
I would say that whenever I felt I wasn't up to the task. I could do it. I had done it before. I would do it again. It didn't matter what it was. I had the talent, the creativity, the stamina, whatever was needed. That took me through the darkness.
So, it was odd to see Tom Petty remind me what I'd forgotten this last year.
If you start doubting yourself, you can get in that frame of mind. But you've got to remind yourself, "This is what I do. And I've done it alot. And there's no reason I shouldn't be able to do it again."
