“If you can’t beat fear, just do it scared.”

11 bits of inspiration for mid-January blues from Glennon Doyle.

Photo by Jon Stutfield on Unsplash

“Rock bottom is the end of what wasn’t true enough. Begin again and build something truer.” Glennon Doyle

I interviewed Glennon a few years ago while working for Psychologies, and it’s an experience that’s stuck with me. At the time, I was living on a canal boat in London with my teenage son, juggling the new reality of coming in and out of lockdown. Life felt uncertain and, frankly, a bit overwhelming.

This morning, as I hacked ice off my car (a task that reminded me of scraping it off the inside of the boat windows back then!), the memory of that interview came flooding back.

Glennon was in the process of rebuilding her life after writing her book and making bold, courageous decisions about her future. Her strength and clarity during that conversation stayed with me, helping to ease some of the fear I was carrying at the time. She made me believe, even in that uncertain moment, that it was possible to face life head-on and create something beautiful from it.

Here’s the video with the interview if you’re interested.

But whether you’re plotting a new direction of your life and/or trying to write a book, her wisdom that she shares in all books is inspiring, brutal, and true. She’s a cheerleader for all of us who want to follow the inner whispers and write our books—as well as create an authentic life.

Glennon started to write in the broom cupboard under the stairs, and by putting one word in front of another, she revolutionised her life and became an Oprah-recommended best-selling author.

Here are ten Glennon quotes to warm up your soul on this cold day.

1. “The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that there was something wrong with me."

2. “I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”

3. “When one is burying a dream, one might as well plant another dream.”

4. “Perhaps imagination is not where we go to escape reality but where we go to remember it.”

5. “I've only begun the work that needs to be done here. Not yet, the voice says. Not yet. See this through. Unbecome, Glennon. Unbecome until you uncover who you really are.”

6. “Just do the next right thing, one thing at a time.”

7. “If you can’t beat fear, just do it scared.”

8. “Be messy and complicated and afraid and show up anyways."

9. “When women lose themselves, the world loses its way. We do not need more selfless women. What we need right now is more women who have detoxed themselves so completely from the world's expectations that they are full of nothing but themselves. What we need are women who are full of themselves. A woman who is full of herself knows and trusts herself enough to say and do what must be done. She lets the rest burn.”

10. “Be careful with the stories you tell about yourself."

11. “WE CAN DO HARD THINGS.”

    We Can Do Hard Thing: Answers to Life's 20 Questions by Glennon Doyle will be out in May 25