Help help, I'm in a nutshell!

So last week a good friend of mine who is also a very talented singer/songwriter sent me a message saying "I'm in that place where I hate everything I try, and keep hearing that f$%king voice in my head that tells me I can't write decent songs. any motivating words of wisdom?" Well yes, actually, I do have some words of wisdom. I figured I'd share here what I shared with her.

1. Don't listen to that voice! We ALL have that voice. Every single one of us. The Donald Trumps of the world too. The difference is that they don't listen to that voice. The trick is to realize that we are NOT that voice. If we put everyone's internal monologue on a loud speaker they would all say the same thing. i.e. We're not good enough, smart enough, skinny enough etc. It's simply not true. What we have to do is bring our attention back to the moment that we're in (writing, doing dishes, working) and continue on.

2. Don't judge the work you're doing. One of the things I got semi-good at during my project is not judging what I was working one. I didn't really have time for that. I had one week to write a song and so my goal was clear.I told my friend to write the song as if no one is ever going to hear it. (Just like I'm writing this post -:)

Sometimes we write with the point of view of the listener or reader. But it skews things a bit. We have to write our truth first and then go back and edit. What would your art piece, song, book, blog, (insert project here) look like if no one was ever going to see it? Different, right? And then the trick is to be vulnerable enough to let people see it eventually. But that comes later. First the work.

So there you have it. My words o' wisdom. There's only 2 key points but I think they're strong enough to do the trick. Do you have anything to add? What would you say to your friend if she asked you that question?

Please leave a comment below and share your story. What you say may help and inspire someone else. How cool is that?

All my love, Dana