I have on many occassions and I know a lot of writing friends who have.  Who are these people? Well, their family, friends and peers–although I honestly think that the peer saboteur hurts the most in this situation. So what do you do about it?

For me, going back to “Bird by Bird“ by Anne Lamott helps me a lot. If you haven’t read this book, by all means do. It’s instructions–hilarious instructions on Writing and Life.  It’s written simply and I find myself going back to it every once and again. Today was no exception. There are two lines in one of the segments titled Jealousy that I go back too.

The first is: ” My deepest belief is that to live as if we’re dying can set us free. Dying people teach you to pay attention and to forgive and not to sweat the small things.”

And the second is, Hillel’s line: “I get up. I walk. I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing.”

The way I plan to keep dancing today is by writing. I’m only in competition with myself. I refuse to stoop to their level and give them ammunition to hurt me. The hell of it is, the people who we think should be beside us and supporting us are often the ones who are the most destructive, if we let them.