Are you fragile?

Do you have a fragile sticker pasted to your forehead? If I asked you to describe yourself, would you say you were fragile? Are you  easily broken or destroyed?

I didn’t think I was fragile. But I today I realized I am.  I am easily broken. I have a fragile sticker pasted to my forehead.

Today when I was looking for a photograph in the basement I found a story, “A Year Apart” I had sent to Guidepost Magazine, dated June 26th, 2000.  The story was never published, and it has remained in my filing cabinet for the last twelve years. I didn’t send the story to another magazine. I didn’t write any more stories.

Last year, on January 1st, 2012, I tried to peel the sticker off my forehead when I started a blog and wrote my first article, Living in a perfect world. I didn’t put the story into a category or tag it; I didn’t want anyone to read it. I was afraid someone would laugh. When I hit the publish button on WordPress, I felt like I was standing in the middle of my street, naked. I felt vulnerable.

Last fall I took an on-line writing class, Tribe Writers, taught by Jeff Goins. He writes at Goinswriter.com. He  encourages writers  to share stories that matter; to write from the heart. I kept writing. I wrote, edited and published my stories.

The opportunity is not to have your resume picked from the pile but to lead…No one is going to pick you. Pick yourself.
Seth Godin – page 49: “The Icarus Deception”

In 1 year, 3 months and 5 days I have published 248 blog posts.  I don’t feel like I am in the street naked anymore. I share my stories and hope people will read them.

If no one reads my stories, I still write. If people read my stories and don’t like them, I still write. If I don’t feel like writing, I still write. If I feel like my writing is awful, I still write.

Take off your fragile sticker. Pick yourself.