‘I wrote a book only 31 people bought.’: Woman shares powerful reminder ‘you get one life, please your damn self’

“About 4 weeks ago, I wrote a book.

Only 31 people have bought it.

When I cook,

usually, only one person eats it (and he doesn’t typically enjoy it).

Sometimes when I post,

no one ‘likes’ it.

When I cross something off my ‘gotta get it done’ list,

no one claps.

I like to sing, but when I do,

most everyone covers their ears.

Despite the joy it brings me,

I’ve been told my dancing is unsightly too.

When I was younger, semi-nice people called me quirky, but their less than kind counterparts,

well, they called me weird.

I’ve always walked to the beat of my own drummer and doing such has caused most to

mock my stride,

question the presence of any beat at all,

and downplay the ridiculous awesomeness that is the soundtrack of MY life.

You know, sometimes I doubt myself.

Sometimes I worry I’m making more wrong turns than right ones and that I’m wasting precious time being subpar.

But then I come back to reality and my uber-blessed present and remember that the things I do, I do for me.

You get one life.

Just one.

And you can’t spend another second of yours trying to please other people or seeking their

acceptance,

approval

or accolades.

Please your damn self,

then pat yourself on the back for the dang good job you’re doing and wake up and do it over again tomorrow and for every tomorrow that follows.

If today is the only day that you’ve got,

you don’t wanna be a ‘could’ve, should’ve, would’ve been.’

Stand tall and proud and be an ‘I did.'”

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Nicole Merritt of Jthreenme. You can follow her on Facebook, her website, or podcast. Get her new book, Musings for Mom, here. Submit your own story here. Be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.

Read more from Nicole here:

‘I expected him to tell me, ‘Yeah, I’ve noticed. You’ve got to do something about that anxiety.’ He didn’t though.’: Mom grateful for husband’s love when sharing insecurities

‘Do I send my child to their brick and mortar campus and worry about their physical health EVERY SINGLE DAY?’: Mom shares frustrations for fall school re-openings

‘You’ll never remember these nights. When I lie in bed, listening to you breathe, and question if someone, anyone, could do this better.’: Mom says ‘you’ll never remember these nights, but I will’

‘I send them to school with stains. We eat dinner in front of the TV. We make noise, a lot of it, and we like our pasta best slurped.’: Mom urges ‘dance to the beat of your own family’s drum’

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