Owning the bruising

One of my soccer coaches once told me that if you don't have any bruises at the end of a game then you didn't play hard enough. I have to say I've had my share of bruises on the soccer pitch. I once had one that went from ankle all the way to my knee after getting kicked in the shin. Last summer I had a nasty one on my arm and to end this indoor season, I got this one.

To me, a bruise signifies that you played hard, and I have to say I’m kind of proud of them.

Why would I endure such pain you might ask? That’s simple, for the love of being in the game.

Although we don’t typically get physically bruised in our quest to be a published author, our egos and hopes often take an emotional beating. There aren’t many of us who don’t shed a tear over a harsh critique or feel frustrated after a rejection.

But we need to do look at these things as badges indicating that we are in the game, because there’s a lot of people out there who want to play, but don’t.

I went to listen to an author once who told a story about how a few of her friends started a competition to see who could be the rejection queen. In the end, she got her publishing contract and so did her friends.

Yes it would be nice not to bruise, and maybe somewhere out there is someone who got an agent on their first query, but just think how good of a story you’ll have when someone asks, “How did you get published?”

So just keep on bruising.