Self Doubt

Posted on by Louise Bunting

This post is for Baheya’s Miniature Writing Challenge. This week’s prompt is Freedom. For this challenge you are asked to write either an ultra short story (50-150 words), a haiku or a little poem. This week I decided to share a poem.

the-master-key-to-your-freedom-625x360
Image supplied by Baheya

Self-Doubt

Ensnared
in a churning morass
of fear,
insecurity,
spiralling ever deeper.
Not as good;
never as good
as everyone,
anyone,
who went before.

What’s the point in trying?
You’ll never succeed.

Assume a brave face.
Tell yourself
again and again,
say it until you
believe it
fully:

you are good enough.

There are no chains to
hold you down:
the world is full of
endless
possibility.

I wrote the first version of this poem a few years ago now and its been languishing in a folder on my computer ever since. After seeing the prompt for this week’s Miniature Writing Challenge I decided to resurrect it.

Writer’s block is something that I’ve battled with a lot over the years. It was only starting the blog and discovering flash fiction that really enabled me to move completely past it. I could write the occasional children’s story or poem, I could express myself creatively through painting, but trying to write the more grown up fiction that I love just left me staring at a blank screen thinking ‘why on Earth am I even trying – nothing I write will ever be good enough’.

I’m determined not to be imprisoned by such negativity any longer.

11 thoughts on “Self Doubt”

    1. I’ve still got quite a lot of things hiding on my computer but I’ve been trying to post as much as I can on my blog. Blogging has really helped me to combat the writer’s block and self-doubt. Thanks for visiting and for the kind comment.

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Such a beautiful and inspirational poem, dear Louise… the last stanza perfectly fits the image above… thanks for sharing… All my best wishes. Aquileana 🙂

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