{"id":552,"date":"2014-06-30T12:09:27","date_gmt":"2014-06-30T17:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ellismorning.com\/blog\/?p=552"},"modified":"2014-06-30T12:12:47","modified_gmt":"2014-06-30T17:12:47","slug":"it-sucks-so-dont-give-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ellismorning.com\/blog\/2014\/06\/it-sucks-so-dont-give-up\/","title":{"rendered":"It Sucks- So Don’t Give Up!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"impossible\"<\/a>(Image credit: Imagebase.net<\/a>)<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n

At a writer’s group meeting, a fellow member was discussing his work from several years back, lamenting how it all sucked.<\/p>\n

I told him, “GOOD!”<\/p>\n

He was confused.\u00a0 How is that possibly good?<\/p>\n

Two reasons: he’d improved his writing over time, and he’d recognized as much.<\/p>\n

Do you ever cringe, looking at stuff you worked on years earlier?\u00a0 Some of my writing from high school and college, ugh- the prose is so purple, it craps violets.\u00a0 In college, I got down on myself for not having finished anything I could try publishing.\u00a0 Thank goodness I hadn’t!\u00a0 Even now, with a few publication credits to speak of, I’m\u00a0 pushing limits and working on weak points<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When will it suck?
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Any time you’re on the path to becoming better at something.\u00a0 Sucking just means there’s room for improvement, and there will always<\/em> be room for improvement because none of us are perfect.<\/p>\n

There’s no shame in it.\u00a0 The important thing is to keep practicing and taking good criticism into account<\/a>.\u00a0 Your efforts will<\/em> suck less over time.<\/p>\n

Notice I frame it in terms of it\/they.\u00a0 IT (the work) sucks.\u00a0 YOU don’t suck- EVER- unless you stop trying.<\/p>\n

Whether you can devote a sufficient amount of effort to something isn’t always in your control, but there’s a lot you can do to make room for practice<\/a>.\u00a0 To get really good at one thing, you may have to put several other things aside.\u00a0 If you can’t, you may have to accept remaining a dabbler in that particular realm.<\/p>\n

This new [painting\/drawing\/etc.] sucks!
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First tries are supposed<\/em> to suck!\u00a0 Even a pro needs several tries at making a new stitch, writing a new scene, or rehearsing a new song to get it right.\u00a0 There’s a level of talent you hone over time, but each individual project has its own path from suckage to greatness too.<\/p>\n

That path can be full of obstacles, soaring highs (“OMG this is awesome I rule!”), and crushing lows (“I can’t string a sentence together today- I’m the worst!”).\u00a0 It’s tempting to give up during the lows, but those who persist are the ones who go on to become talented.<\/p>\n

So, suck away.\u00a0 Don’t feel bad about it.\u00a0 And when you’re feeling your suckiest?\u00a0 Suck some more.<\/p>\n

Today sucks!
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My bike was stolen from my garage (?!) this weekend.\u00a0 If this blog post sucks, that’s why.\u00a0 I’m numb and cynical and have no words in me right now.\u00a0 If I had my druthers, I’d be moping under some blankets.<\/p>\n

It’s OK to feel bad and take time to process a hurtful event, but how long can you let it go on?\u00a0 How much more time and happiness will I let that thief steal?<\/p>\n

Getting back into routine is the fastest way out of this slump- so, I’m blogging, and drafting.\u00a0 It all sucks, but it’s nothing I can’t fix later.\u00a0 I’m having trouble finding the quote, but there was a professional baseball player who once said something along the lines of, “Being a professional means doing what you love when you don’t want to.”<\/p>\n

Don’t give up!\u00a0 Forge ahead.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are some favorite examples of fictional characters rebounding from those “I suck” lows.\u00a0 First, the episode “I Am The Night” from Batman: The Animated Series.\u00a0 <\/em>I can’t find the full episode anywhere, but here are some important clips:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HaDO5Q7_ktY<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this video cuts short of the best part: Dick Grayson\/Robin telling Batman, “You taught me everything I know about crime fighting, Bruce, but the most important lesson was to never! Give! Up!<\/em>”\u00a0 Batman snaps out of his funk in time to save Commissioner Gordon’s life.<\/p>\n

Here’s a lighter example from one of my favorite movies ever, Tommy Boy.\u00a0<\/em> “Forging ahead” after dozens of failures allows Tommy to make his first “sale.”
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