Is My Freak Flag Big Enough?

My head is groggy and I want to return back to the cozy comfort of bed.  No, it's not morning.  I fell asleep on my bed with my youngest, who didn't want to go to sleep. Sometimes if we lay on "my" bed, he'll crash out.  I'm happy to say it worked, but unfortunately, not just for him!

Before we both fell asleep, I mulled over what to write for this blog post, and the only thing I could think of was the title, "Is My Freak Flag Big Enough."

First of all, I don't want anyone to be offended by my use of the word "freak."  My definition of "freak" is a person who has qualities of all the quirky, creative, intelligent individuals of the world and is confident of who they are.  It is a very loving term of endearment.

Here is a lip-dub by Cosplay Fever of Pink's Raise Your Glass.  When I watch this video, I am proud to let my freak-flag fly.  There are some swear words, by the way.  The radio version of the song has those bleeped out.

Some day I might dissect exactly what it is about the video and song that I like so much, but right now I'm satisfied with knowing it makes me happy inside!

Anyway, one unintended consequence of all the blog hops I've been involved in, as well as the Fourth Campaign, is that I'm finding a ton of creative people.  Super creative people who make me wonder about my own creative talents.

I know, I know.  Self-doubt. Don't listen to it.

It isn't that I'm entertaining the possibility that I have no creativity.  It's that I wonder if I have enough.  There are so many talented people out there.  So very many...

Photo by Tom Curtis/Free Digital Photos.net

I wouldn't be writing a post about this if I didn't think that other people maybe feel this way, too.  I think we all have times where we realize exactly what kind of a task we have set up for ourselves.  It's kind of like Christopher Columbus getting halfway across the ocean and thinking "Uh-oh.  What did I get us in to?"

What do we do when those types of thoughts come knocking on the door of our minds (and self-esteems), and we're far enough out into the ocean that we can't (or don't want to) turn back?

I can tell you what we don't want to do.  We don't want to open the door and invite the thought in for dinner.  It'll have a nice evening with you, and then, when you ask it to leave, it'll pop it's shoes off, and stick it's stinky feet on your nice leather ottoman.

No.  We have to meet the thought at the door, and tell it that it has to go elsewhere.  Don't let it get a hold of you.  Acknowledge that it is a concern, then let it go and return to whatever it was you were doing. 

It gets easier the more you practice it.  Trust me, I know.

Those self-doubts stem from competition.  We can only label ourselves when we judge ourselves according to other's achievements or abilities.  There's enough people out in the writing world that, quite honestly, have to judge us.  Yes, we need to always be aware of how we are growing and progressing, but we don't need to always hold ourselves up against every other writer out there.  It isn't helpful.

We're all in this writing boat together.  If we support each other, we can all fly our freak flags together.

How do you handle those moments when negative thoughts come knocking?