I Did It! (thanks to Eleanor)

This short quote has become my mantra:
You must do the thing you think you cannot do.  –Eleanor Roosevelt

You see, I've been a big chicken for a long, long time.  I made some unfortunate decisions, and the consequences left me nearly unable to make any decision whatsoever.  You could say that self confidence has not been my strong suit.  I've been working on it, though.  Whenever I begin thinking, "That's just too hard", or "I don't have the time or energy to do that", or, "I'm not good/strong/smart/whatever enough to...", I make myself repeat, over and over:

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do." ...etc. ....

I applied for an exhibit at the Artspace Gallery in Richmond, Virginia, and to my surprise, I was notified that the jury had decided to offer me a show!  I was in shock; what had happened to the usual rejection letter?  Now what do I do?
The usual doubts flooded in.  How could I do this by myself?  Would I be able to drive so far alone?  Could I afford the trip?  How would I get everything done while working full time?  Would I be able to hang it by myself?  Could I take off work that long?  There were a thousand reasons it might not work out.  Maybe I should turn it down, I thought.  It seemed like, well- the safest thing to do.

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do."  I don't remember where I first read them (probably on someone's blog), but I do remember the feeling of recognition, of knowing deep in my bones that those words were true.  How many times had I told my students the same thing- that self esteem comes only from accomplishing something difficult, that no growth comes from taking the easy way out?  So, I signed the contract, and did what I had to do.  Whenever I felt like chickening out, I repeated those words.

And here's what happened as a result.

 My husband was able to go with me, and we got the show hung on time, with no major problems.

The gallery was in an old warehouse, which also housed several other galleries that had openings the same night.  It was a nice space.

You can't tell from the pictures, but the opening was well attended.

Everything went pretty smoothly, and we had a great time!

In other words,

I did it!

That Eleanor, she really knew what she was talking about.