Early morning songwriting felt especially needed this week.  Sometimes I shock myself with the words that come out of my mouth.  It’s before the sun comes up—and before my mind switches on—that my feelings can easily find their way to the surface.

Turns out I’ve been holding on to more hard feelings than my waking mind wants me to admit.  Yesterday’s song was especially dark. Deliciously dark. I wrote it quickly and smiled like crazy when I finished it.

And then old ‘people pleaser’ Emily reared her ugly head, and I instantly felt guilty for making something other people won’t like. Damn…that girl.

Reader, it will be lifelong challenge for me not to care what others think of me.  Even in the quiet corners of my home when I’m all alone, I still wonder whether others will like or not like what I'm making.  It’s a lame and exhausting way to live.  Fortunately, every year that passes, it gets a little easier not to care about the potential judgement of others.  And it’s only in the past 5 years that I’ve really discovered how to identify when I’m doing it so I can let go more quickly. 

This week was a reminder: be selfish, for your creativity’s sake.  Let’s not waste a minute of our creative energy this week on wondering if what we make is likable: if we like it, that’s all that matters.  I’ll see you next Monday. -Em