Low Self-Esteem as a Writer

It’s funny how rejection doesn’t sting any less even when you were expecting it.

I’m the type of person who always takes what other people think too seriously. This quality has created a wavering self-esteem I’ve been trying to overcome most of my life.
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I hope that you’re not at all like me. But if you are, I have a small suggestion for dealing with rejection.

To combat moments of low self-esteem in my writing life, I have a list. A list of my successes, great and small. Some of them are as meaningful as having work accepted into my college’s literary anthology or winning a contest. Others are as small as compliments I’ve received from teachers over the years. But they are all valuable. When I’m feeling down, I can skim through my list and remember that there will be good days, too.
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And ultimately, I have to ask myself the big questions. Did I enjoy the writing process? Did I learn from it – whether about the craft or about myself? And if the answer to those questions is yes, does it matter that it wasn’t “the best?” 

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