Here’s today’s fast fact: There is an old saying that doesn’t get nearly the appreciation it should, and it goes like this: “familiarity breeds contempt.” Of course, that certainly does not apply to OUR relatives or OUR friends. Except that it does. Fortunately, not ALL of them, so I’ll rephrase that: it applies to MANY of them. But we’re never ready for it. I have relatives and friends who are stalwart supporters of all my endeavors, and probably most of you do too. Sadly, I also have had a few that allowed the green-eyed monster to take over every time a few more book sales are added to my tally or I schedule another event.

It’s beyond me why we can’t just support each other in ALL of our successes, but the warning here is: DON’T allow individuals like that to negatively affect your emotions. Those types of people will ALWAYS be there. They will be the one constant thing in your life for the duration of your career: those who sit there making snarky remarks or wearing sarcastic little smiles because you’re celebrating your success. Ghost them away.

I’m not saying literally cut a relative or friend out of your life completely over something like that but ghost the negative vibe away. Pretend you didn’t hear it, pretend it was a stranger who said it, pretend it doesn’t exist, do whatever you have to do to get that stuff out of your mind, because otherwise it will drag you down every time. Don’t let naysayers live rent free in your head. Stop them immediately and remind yourself how successful you truly are and just how far you’ve come. Once you do that, you’ll realize how little what they have to say actually means. Write on!