"What if I fail?" · Book Marketing Bootcamp

"What if I fail?"

I didn't sleep well last night so today I've felt pretty meh...which immediately tailspins my thoughts. "You're going to fail" "you're a failure" - I mostly kept these thoughts at bay with my morning cup of serotonin (coffee) long enough to get words, but in the afternoon the energy slump brought them back.

It is entirely possible for me not to get 2000 preorders by the end of the month. But getting even 1 more would be awesome. And although the goal is a stretch, I bet I can get 2000 total by launch, which is Dec 26th. *exhausted cheer*

But that's all logical thought. And my fear/feelings aren't logical. They are coming because, frankly, I didn't eat enough before 1 pm.

I swear I'm back to kindergarten with self care:

did I eat something?

drink water?

take my meds?
go outside/get some sun?
connect with a loved one?
go to the bathroom (my bladder gets ignored when I hyper-focus)?

It's quite possible you also need to drink something not caffeinated or eat something that's not a simple carb. But you also might have a habit of these "I can't do it/I'm a failure" thoughts.

I find it useful to write them down and become the observer right away. This switches the mind from stress (amygdala) to critical thinking (pre-frontal cortex) and possibilities come flooding in.

But I also need to eat protein! And just shrug off everything until I've had some good sleep.

Posting in case this is helpful.

Also, I know that if I focus on the ditch, I will steer into the ditch, so I'm going to keep thinking about 2k preorders and how it will look and feel. And complete one task on my tactics list (give my assistant new back matter for book 1 in the series, back matter that points to the new book)

Hope to see you for the tactics call Monday! Also, the recording from yesterday is up and it's 9 hours long! 😆 JK.

And did you see we're going to have an Author Gala/Month end celebration on the 30th? Halloween costumes expected but not required. PJs are costumes too. ;)

6 comments

"What if I fail?"