Imagine how magnificently dull the world would be if we were all fearful of tackling our desires and wishes. No books would have been written, no movies created, and no songs would be getting stuck in our heads for hours on end. Most importantly and tragic of all though, is that none of us would have something to show for ourselves. None of us would have been granted the experience that comes along with opening up our minds and our hearts to the creation of something wonderful.
Stephen King was referring specifically to writing when he said this, and many, if not all writers can and should learn from him, not only for themselves but for the sake of binge readers’ sanity as well. Many writers, myself included, are so fearful of beginning their first novel or their first poem or even a school essay because they don’t know where to start. Fear blocks the brains natural creativity, and this results in feelings of dissatisfaction and disappointment. We feel we’re not good enough and we start to believe that maybe we don’t have what it takes to do what we love and we should leave it in the hands of others; a notion that we need to throw away forever.
This concept applies to more than just writers though. In fact, it applies to every single person in the world who has ever had the faintest desire to do something. It could be anything. It could be something as simple as starting a book that interests you, or something as grand as submitting your first application to medical school. If you’re letting your fear of starting a task keep you from doing it, you’re just cheating yourself. You’re letting your insecurity win, and that is a person’s greatest downfall.
As we grow older it’s no secret that we all want to be able to look back on our lives with satisfaction, grateful for all the things we achieved and the experiences we lived through. We want to know that we lived our lives to their full capacity, and we want to know that it was all possible because we didn’t doubt ourselves. We didn’t let any negative thoughts or beliefs stand in our way. We had an idea, a desire, a belief, and we blasted it with positive energy until it manifested into something great.
Now imagine how magnificently vibrant the world would be if we all faced our desires with confidence. Heart-wrenching books would be written, award-winning movies created, and lyrically satisfying songs would be getting stuck in our heads for hours on end. Most importantly and beautiful of all though, is that we would all have something to show for ourselves. All of us would have been granted numerous life-changing experiences, opening up our minds and our hearts to the start of something wonderful.
The world would be bursting at the seams with creativity, pulsing through our veins, and we would be left wondering why we ever doubted ourselves in the first place.
