I Am a Rough Draft
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And I’m in constant need of revision.
The Secondhand Inspiration Project begins with a motivational quote and ventures wherever the creative path meanders.
“Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they’re finished.” ― Daniel Gilbert
Recently, I had a conversation with a close friend in which she made a saddening revelation.
“I am at the point of my life where I have come to terms that I will never be successful,” she confessed.
Her words struck me in the gut like an emotional sucker punch.
She continued her concession statement. “I have a family that I love. I have a secure job. I have a decent home and some money in the bank. But I will never be wildly successful like I envisioned when I graduated from college. And I guess I am okay with that.”
I did not have the right words to be her cheerleader at that moment. But hearing this from somebody that I care about and respect was jarring and heartbreaking.
Now in context, her current mental state was skewed by current events and COVID-related wonkiness. Also, she had experienced several hard-luck happenings in her personal life. I understood her melancholia and much of what fueled it.
Still, the sheer finality of her statement astonished me. It represented the verbal act of throwing in the towel.
I am at the point of my life where I have come to terms that I will never be successful. That sentence seems so conclusive. So definite. So unbending.
God hardwired me a little differently. Maybe it is the perfectionist writer within me or the fact that I have read so many self-help books that I spout off mentions of a growth mindset in casual conversations with strangers. But I cannot view life through the same lens that my friend is currently using.
I think of myself as a rough draft, one that is always in dire need of revision.
My identity is more valuable than any poem, short fiction piece, or article that I have ever penned or was blessed to get published. So…
