Why Believing in “You” Is a Tough Lesson to Learn 🗿📖⛷️

Published: Wed, 06/19/24

Updated: Wed, 06/19/24

Believe in Your Journey, Even When Others Doubt It.

Anonymous

I'm sipping on a green juice and peering out my window, and a thought creeps up on me. I’ll never truly be able to go through life without questioning my talents. Come to think of it, I should never expect that. Especially if I’m constantly challenging myself. That’s the way it should be. But you would think after years of writing, I’d be less prone to questioning my capabilities. Thankfully, the questions are less severe because I’ve developed competency over the years and continue to do so.
But in the early days, my inner critic’s questions were brutal. Trust me, I understand why cultivating that deep core of confidence in who you are and what you’re capable of tends to be such an arduous journey for so many.
But you must build it.

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What you believe, You receive.

Back in the day, it was difficult. I think it’s even more difficult today. We’re living in a time when our sense of self-worth gets twisted from an early age. We’re indoctrinated and compared against yardsticks and metrics that assign our value - wealth accumulated, status and occupational titles, and even physical appearances. We look at ourselves in the mirror and struggle to recognise the value staring back at us. Being inundated with an endless onslaught of images of perfection pushed by media, it’s easy to fall into the trap of feeling inadequate.
For me, there are two ideas I always hold at the forefront of my mind as I develop self-belief.

🌟 Introducing the First-Line Hook Challenge! 🌟

Every great story begins with a single line—a line that draws you in and refuses to let go. Think of "It was a pleasure to burn." - Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury or "The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel." - Neuromancer by William Gibson. Now, it's your turn to captivate us with your opening sentence!

Challenge Details: Craft a single, unforgettable first line for a speculative fiction story. Your line could open the gates to a dystopian future, a clash among starships, the discovery of a parallel world, or any imaginative scenario you can dream up!

How to Participate:

Submit Your First Line: DM me on Instagram with your best first line. Keep it sharp, keep it intriguing.
Include a Title: Give your prospective story a title that complements your first line (titles are not judged but add to the fun and creativity).

Judging Criteria:

Impact: Does the line make us want to read more?
Originality: How unique and creative is the line?
Tone and Atmosphere: Does the line set a clear tone or evoke a specific atmosphere right away?

Prizes:

🥇 First Place: A feature in our next newsletter, a $50 bookstore gift card, and a chance to write a guest post or interview about how you came up with your First Line Hook.

🥈 Second Place: Your First Line Hook featured in my newsletter and a $15 Amazon gift card.

🥉 Third Place: Your First Line Hook in one of my Facebook posts and a $10 Amazon gift card

Submission Deadline

Get ready to hook us with your words and potentially see your first line kickstart a beloved new story in the minds of our readers! Be sure to get your submissions in by 30th June 2024.

The first is Antifragility.
-- Unlike resilience, which means bouncing back from adversity, antifragility implies that we grow stronger from challenges. Adversity is not merely a hurdle; it’s an opportunity to enhance our capabilities and fortify our self-belief. When you encounter setbacks, instead of seeing them as failures, view them as chances to improve. This shift in perspective is crucial. For instance, every rejection letter I received didn’t just make me tougher; it made my writing sharper and my resolve stronger. Embracing antifragility means the more challenges you face, the more competent and confident you become.

-- Secondly is the empowering: “Unfuckwithable.”
-- To be unfuckwithable means reaching a state where your self-worth and peace are so secure that nothing external can disturb you. It’s about building a fortress of competence and confidence.
-- Remember them.

Spokes - Arcane Impresario

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Now, here’s the real truth.
Confidence in yourself has nothing to do with any of those superficial markers. The confidence I’m talking about is the unwavering mastery and command of your own wits, talents, and capabilities from persistent and consistent work. It sometimes feels like a magical process as you lean into your strengths, study your craft passionately, and embrace continuous growth.

The result of all this is the gradual improvement in your belief in yourself.

Deep down, every human understands hard-earned mastery. Individuals who have spent relentless hours honing their craft develop an unmistakable aura. They move through life as powerful and authentic personalities, not through bluster or ego but through hard work.

So, if you find yourself wrestling with self-doubt, I invite you to shift that mindset immediately. Reflect on your unique skills, strengths, and potential. Think about your uniqueness. Nobody on the planet can do what you do and in the way you do it. Keep developing that.

What areas are you enthusiastically attracted to diving deeper into?
Whatever that focal point is, lean into it like your life depends upon it. Devote yourself to the craft and study its principles. Watch how that vibration of confidence emerges the more you internalise your skills.
It will naturally show up.

I’ve seen it from my micro-story posts on social media. I surprise myself with how naturally story ideas come to me. That was no accident Gentle Reader. That is true self-confidence in action. It is available to anyone courageous enough to stop being guided by society’s yardsticks and commit to doing the real internal work on themselves.

So, forget what society tries to market and project as the measures of your worth.

Nothing beats earned competence. Nobody else knows how hard you’ve worked and how much you’ve learned and improved yourself. It’s nothing short of a superpower, one you can spend your entire life continually levelling up.
There is no need to accept society’s metrics or wait for anyone else’s validation again - cultivate your own standards and let confidence handle the rest.
Trust yourself; there is no one like you.

Til the next transmission, keep asking the big questions.

Peace, love and power.

Be Your Own Hero.