I get my best ideas at two in the morning. The still of the night, the only audible sounds being the ticking of a broken clock or the slight movement of the wind over the shingles on the roof. I find myself staring aimlessly at the ceiling, begging for sleep to hit me. I have no idea what I want to write about anymore. My inspiration has run dry. My creativity has made a bed of boring and shriveled up to die beside all the ideas that I have thrown out previously.
This got me to thinking, how many wonderful ideas has someone in the world had, and just threw away because they felt as if they didn't measure up? How many million dollar ideas got bunched up into a ball and thrown in the waste basket, simply for someone else to come along and pick it up.
I always have these awesome ideas and stories I plan out in my head. When it comes time to put pen to paper, most times I find it near impossible. I want the eloquent cerebration I have to translate into text so badly that I find myself getting frustrated and throwing entire articles down the drain because it does not meet my standards.
Why is it so easy to give up? Why is it so acceptable to entirely quit if you don't immediately excel at it? Why are we a society that pressures people to pursue things they are solely "good" at and to negate the things that truly make us happy because we do or do not have a gift?
For example, my father is TERRIBLE at golf. He might be the worst golf player I have ever seen in my life. But it makes him happy. He loves the outdoors, the company he gets to keep, and the motions of playing the game, and he truly stinks at it. He has learned what so many people never do.. Who cares if you're the best? Who is going to applaud you for taking a step back and quitting something?
No one.
I get frustrated with writing so easily sometimes. I want to be the greatest. I want to make no errors. I want people to read what I write and say "wow, she's really awesome". But that may never happen. And that's okay, because I LOVE writing. I genuinely enjoy sitting down with my laptop, a cup of coffee, and my cat, Calvin, next to me. My thoughts might not always come out how I envision them...but I know that if I keep up with what I love I can only get better at it.
Don't quit something you love because you aren't number one. Keep practicing. Keep getting ideas at two in the morning and writing them down on old Starbucks napkins. (Not that I would ever do that.....weirdo) It's okay to gradually grow and get better. Just please don't ever quit. Even when you're laying in bed at night thinking there is no way you could possibly meet the standard of whatever is important in your life... keep going.
