Secret #9 – Transcending Rejections and Roadblocks

I’ve been fortunate not to really have experienced any rejections or roadblocks except for in my own mind. Whether it is my inherent introvertedness or a lack of self-confidence, either way it has kept me from “putting my art out there”.  Maybe that is why one particular quote from the 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women means so much to me. Gail McMeekin wrote “putting yourself out there and sharing your work qualifies as an act of courage and tests your fortitude.” In the past I have mostly put myself out there through swaps, gifts, and donations to my sons’ school silent auctions. Even though I’m still taking baby steps, they have gotten bigger. I have just completed a piece that I created for a fundraising auction for a local public radio station.  I wanted to post about the auction separately, but you can find the info and a picture of the piece here. One of the things I found beneficial from this chapter were some of the suggested exercises. Recently I wrote about what I envisioned as a perfect day for me as part of reading Walking in this World by Julia Cameron. I used the exercises in this chapter to turn that journaling into a list of goals and steps I can take to acheive them. Even though I may be taking baby steps to work on my goals, at least I am moving toward them.