When I Grow Up I Want to be a Failure!

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash “Without failure there is no achievement.” -John C. Maxwell I wrote poems and short stories, but anxiety told me they were worthless. I took creative writing classes and was told I had talent, but anxiety said they were wrong. One of my poems was published in a book, but anxiety said they probably publish everyone who submits a piece. I always said I wanted to be a writer like Stephen King when I grew up. That dream never went away, but the confidence in myself did… not that I ever had that much confidence to begin with. I had a portfolio of my poems, short stories, and writing assignments that I’d collected for years. When I was 19 or 20 I threw the whole thing in the garbage. It was nearly twenty years before I tried to write again. I was so sure that everything I had ever written was worthless. I’ve had a bad habit of finding something I’m passionate about, getting excited about it, and then deciding there’s no point bec