In the last few weeks I’ve been seeking out posts from writers who suffer ‘stage fright’ as their books are published.
Me too. While I’ve been drafting posts to tell people about my latest book – Living Softly – my internal soundtrack has gone haywire with not-good-enough/who-do-you-think-you-are thoughts.
Until yesterday morning, that is, when I sheepishly realised here was the perfect opportunity to use the ‘three ideas’ which provide my recipe for living softly.
mind my mind
Just because I have a thought doesn’t mean it’s true. And, even if it is just the smallest bit true (I may not have entirely delivered the vision I had for Living Softly) listening to my own negative internal voice just makes me feel bad, which is wholly counter-productive and not how I want to live any more.
So I chose a softer thought: there are some good ideas in the book and if people take away one or two things that will help them then I’ll be content.
be kind
Like most people I know, I find it easier to be kind to others than to myself. Many of my friends are working on, or have published books, and I always tell them I admire them for having the courage to tell their stories, share their ideas, and, above all, put their heads above the parapet.
Being kind to me means treating myself in the same way.
Being kind to others means daring to put out into the world some thoughts that I hope will help a few people recognise the ways in which they are ‘efforting’ and find a little more peace.
make space for grace
Once any of us has done our best, we have to hand the outcome over. That’s a hard lesson in our out-of-control world, indeed the more world events spiral, the more tempted we may be to hang onto control in our own personal worlds.
Yet trying to control everything is exhausting. As I pressed ‘send’ on the book announcement I reminded myself to take a deep breath and trust that all is well. After a ridiculously long time in the making, Living Softly is written and how it is received and whether anyone finds it useful is out of my hands.
Phew! What a relief.
The book has a lot more on about how to use these three ideas in YOUR daily life
Over to you. Living Softly: finding ease when life feels hard is available as both paperback and an e-book, and all the details and links are on this website.
One of the things I am always saying at workshops is that we teach what we need to learn. Clearly that’s also true for what we write…
