FB/The-road-to-ME

…is to believe in someone else.

Every once in a while, we all fall down.

Maybe a meeting didn’t go right. We said all the wrong words, someone got mad, left, or shook their heads at us with their arms crossed and their eyebrows pressed down in a mean looking frown. Maybe we misinterpreted something someone else said, and inserted foot, leading in a direction neither party wanted to go. Or maybe the day just spiraled out of control with unexpected hiccups, throwing off our carefully thought out routines, like traffic, or spilling something on your shirt as you walked out of the door, or a recipe that flopped in the kitchen. Maybe a sudden call from school saying your kid was sick and you had to pick them up—now.

Recently, I received line edits on my short story, Stage Fright from the copy editor. My first ever serious line edits, and I didn’t think I would get emotional about them. I do have a thick spine. I’ve worked in corporate training where I received daily evaluations from peers in the adult classrooms, and I’ll just say, some people can take their stresses out on anyone but the right person, and I became okay with that.

Line edits were a new sort of feedback, and it was difficult to see someone else remap pieces I created. I freaked. My stress went up. My heart rate went up a few notches and my worries took my head down all sorts of wrong paths.

Later that day, I received a sweet email from J Keller Ford, one of the other authors in One More Day. She pumped me up. She shared her own personal story, and then above all things, she offered to help me in any way possible, telling me to breathe. Relax. She reinforced my belief in my abilities and how I created something different and unique the audience would love. Jenny believed in me when I needed it the most.

My point today is to show you a moment in my life when I needed someone to take my hand and lift me up. We all fall down, and maybe you know someone who is still down. Reach out. Be curious. Take interest in another person’s life. And maybe if it’s you, take the risk and confide in someone you trust. Stress does bad things to our bodies, and sometimes it’s as simple as these words from someone else: “I believe you can do this.”

Because I do. No matter what’s going on in your life. You can do this.