Feb 21·edited Feb 21Liked by Dorothy Littell Greco
Such wisdom here, Dorothy, thank you! Prayer is essential for me, especially when the voice of doubt seems to be overcoming the voices of encouragement. When that happens, which is more often than I'd like to admit, I have to step inside myself and say, "Lord, show me the way. I don't know how to do anything by myself." Faith and doubt, a humbling duality resolved in Him.
It is said that the root of self doubt is the fear of failure. I have to ask myself why I am afraid of failing and why does it matter to me so much. We all need to keep the faith in ourself and trust in God. We all need to rethink what we as a person may view as failure when it’s really an opportunity to reinvent our idea and power through. As Psalm 50:15 says You can let doubt, fear, and worry overtake you, or you can call upon the Lord. God has promised that if you call upon him, he will deliver you.
Thank you Dorothy for this very honest and thoughtful collaborative reflection. It's comforting and inspiring to hear others' journeys and realize we each have daily opportunities to walk through challenging places. I am constantly being reminded about opportunities in stuck places to ask for help from God and others, which is not often my go-to mode. What came to mind in answer to your question was my recent experience of getting perspective and help from my daughter. Leaning on her courage and love of skiing to overcome fears of certain terrain as well as receiving her help with finishing a presentation, leaning on her love of making checklists and being creative with childlike freedom and whimsy, helped put things in perspective to move through places of inner conflict, doubt, and fear. You are a courageous and faith-filled creative woman of God I love learning from.
While not about creativity per se, your post reminded me of the times when I’m praying for something - a friend, a situation - and I come to a place of dark hopelessness, but the next day, a major breakthrough happens. The pattern has repeated enough so that even when I’m in the depths of despair, and feeling all the doubt, a small part of me recognizes that this is familiar, and simultaneously hopes.
I think the most important part for me is to do whatever I am doing just for myself. Yes, there are many responsibilities and expectations, but I have to forget about all of them, and be really fascinated just for myself to find the answer, to write the book I would like to read. And yes, when you are actually finished, there is that possibility nobody would be interested in what you wrote, painted, programmed, but that is not that important, because the work is actually done even though it could be done just for you (and possibly Christopher).
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and those of your friends, Dorothy. I can certainly identify! For me, I find that doubt usually results from my failing to remember that there are only two odds with God: 0% and 100%. I push through by reminding myself that, if God wills for me to accomplish a given goal, I will do so; and if God does not will that I succeed, I will not. In contrast, when I start to slip into subconscious feeling that God is nervously pacing, desperately counting on me to succeed, and hoping I don’t screw up,” that is when anxiety can come. Thus, I also remind myself that God is NEVER nervous. These reminders bring me back to focusing more foundationally on simply doing my best with the opportunities that I believe God has set before me. It is easy and comforting to say, “With God, all things are possible,” but I believe short-term comfort derived from saying this actually takes this truth out of context. I believe it is more challenging, requires more faith, but—in the end—provides greater peace and anchoring to say, “With God, all the things that God wills are possible—and nothing else” (John 15:5).
I appreciate your honesty about the writing process—and more than once when you've shared book progress reports, I've thought, "What a rough topic for Dorothy to be tackling."
You've had a lot to work through lately, and I can't imagine that any of it has been easy.
This was encouraging, thank you! I love your description of saying yes to an invitation and then running on discipline and conviction. It rings true to me, as does the sense of knowing you could fail and just needing to keep putting one foot in feont of the other. I look forward to reading this project you're engaged in now.
Such wisdom here, Dorothy, thank you! Prayer is essential for me, especially when the voice of doubt seems to be overcoming the voices of encouragement. When that happens, which is more often than I'd like to admit, I have to step inside myself and say, "Lord, show me the way. I don't know how to do anything by myself." Faith and doubt, a humbling duality resolved in Him.
It is said that the root of self doubt is the fear of failure. I have to ask myself why I am afraid of failing and why does it matter to me so much. We all need to keep the faith in ourself and trust in God. We all need to rethink what we as a person may view as failure when it’s really an opportunity to reinvent our idea and power through. As Psalm 50:15 says You can let doubt, fear, and worry overtake you, or you can call upon the Lord. God has promised that if you call upon him, he will deliver you.
Thank you Dorothy for this very honest and thoughtful collaborative reflection. It's comforting and inspiring to hear others' journeys and realize we each have daily opportunities to walk through challenging places. I am constantly being reminded about opportunities in stuck places to ask for help from God and others, which is not often my go-to mode. What came to mind in answer to your question was my recent experience of getting perspective and help from my daughter. Leaning on her courage and love of skiing to overcome fears of certain terrain as well as receiving her help with finishing a presentation, leaning on her love of making checklists and being creative with childlike freedom and whimsy, helped put things in perspective to move through places of inner conflict, doubt, and fear. You are a courageous and faith-filled creative woman of God I love learning from.
While not about creativity per se, your post reminded me of the times when I’m praying for something - a friend, a situation - and I come to a place of dark hopelessness, but the next day, a major breakthrough happens. The pattern has repeated enough so that even when I’m in the depths of despair, and feeling all the doubt, a small part of me recognizes that this is familiar, and simultaneously hopes.
I think the most important part for me is to do whatever I am doing just for myself. Yes, there are many responsibilities and expectations, but I have to forget about all of them, and be really fascinated just for myself to find the answer, to write the book I would like to read. And yes, when you are actually finished, there is that possibility nobody would be interested in what you wrote, painted, programmed, but that is not that important, because the work is actually done even though it could be done just for you (and possibly Christopher).
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and those of your friends, Dorothy. I can certainly identify! For me, I find that doubt usually results from my failing to remember that there are only two odds with God: 0% and 100%. I push through by reminding myself that, if God wills for me to accomplish a given goal, I will do so; and if God does not will that I succeed, I will not. In contrast, when I start to slip into subconscious feeling that God is nervously pacing, desperately counting on me to succeed, and hoping I don’t screw up,” that is when anxiety can come. Thus, I also remind myself that God is NEVER nervous. These reminders bring me back to focusing more foundationally on simply doing my best with the opportunities that I believe God has set before me. It is easy and comforting to say, “With God, all things are possible,” but I believe short-term comfort derived from saying this actually takes this truth out of context. I believe it is more challenging, requires more faith, but—in the end—provides greater peace and anchoring to say, “With God, all the things that God wills are possible—and nothing else” (John 15:5).
I appreciate your honesty about the writing process—and more than once when you've shared book progress reports, I've thought, "What a rough topic for Dorothy to be tackling."
You've had a lot to work through lately, and I can't imagine that any of it has been easy.
I'll be praying for you.
Thank you, Dorothy, for this honest yet encouraging post! It speaks to me as I push forward to launching my second novel.
This was encouraging, thank you! I love your description of saying yes to an invitation and then running on discipline and conviction. It rings true to me, as does the sense of knowing you could fail and just needing to keep putting one foot in feont of the other. I look forward to reading this project you're engaged in now.