I’m in a slump. Those of you who know me know that I
took up coloring in December of last year. Alex, a long time friend drew my
attention to this hobby as a way of relaxation and a cure for insomnia.
Relaxation and a cure for insomnia? … that’s all she
had to say, I had to try this as I’m frequently stressed and toss and turn for
hours in bed.
I got myself a book and some pens and got started. And
I found that Alex was right, almost immediately I felt a lot calmer, slept better
and found tremendous joy in coloring.
Ten months down the line all that has changed.
Theodore Roosevelt said “Comparison if the thief of
joy” and I found this to be quite true. Since starting the coloring hobby I
joined three coloring groups on Facebook and when I compare my work to some of
the colorings I see I get depressed. Others’ work is so much better than mine.
Some say that coloring is not a competition, and I know
that, but I’ve always expected the best of myself. I also know that some
colorists are professionally trained and my work can’t be as good as theirs,
but I want at least to see an improvement in my colorings.
Alex will shake her head over this and say that I
should just color for my own enjoyment, but that’s just it, I don’t find joy in
coloring anymore, only frustration.
Someone in the group mentioned that if we could be half
as considerate of ourselves as we are of others, we would be happier. And this
is true, why do we have to be so hard on ourselves?
This reminded me of what a Canadian ten-pin bowling
coach ones said to me … “When we miss a spare we berate ourselves with “How
could you miss that!” … “How could you be so stupid!” … and more of such
critical words. When a teammate missed a spare we say … “Oh don’t worry about
it, you’ll get next time.”
Are we our own worst enemy?
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