You've Got This

the reward seemed appealing enough,

a real “bang for your buck” type of deal,

and you thought, “why not?” since you

always bet on yourself first and foremost.

but then came the hard part—the actual

“doing” of the matter building up and

coming with high expectations aloft,

far more than simple self-pressure.

you tried to tell yourself it was a game,

a lark, a one-off, a moment to win big

(if you dared—if only, if only, you dared),

but then came the doubts roaring in.

“who are you kidding?” (yes, really)

“give me a break, you loser” (ouch, self)

“you don’t have a chance” (oh, really?)—

all those thoughts cascading into

one

big

wave

ready

to

drown

you

but you surprised yourself bit by bit,

you made the deadline, you took gold—

maybe not in prizes or trophies, but

you won against yourself, tried and true.

whenever the naysayer rises in your skin,

take heart and know for certain that you

have done this before, tamed the beast—

you’ve got this.