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As we near the end of the year, work exhaustion (a term some may call ‘burnout’) starts to kick in. It’s difficult for many to stay cheerful during this time. Perhaps you didn’t get the promotion you were hoping for, or you’ve unexpectedly had to pack up and move into a smaller house. Whatever the reason, this period of our lives is riddled with things that could make us feel like real failures.
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Bestselling author Marian Keyes, 56, is no stranger to this feeling of being bested by the obstacles life throws in our direction. She’s gathered a fair amount of solid advice for people who are stuck in a rut. In fact, it may just be the wise words you need today.
It’s often easier to shy away from the pitfalls and difficult choices in our lives, but according to Marian, we need to face our fears head on, even if we feel “terrified” to do so.
Marian’s humorous, heartfelt writing over a vast collection of successful novels has cemented her as one of the world’s most-loved literary stars. She took to Instagram to pen an important message with a photograph.
Alongside the photo of a beautifully illustrated Frida Kahlo notebook, she wrote, “This beautiful Frida notebook was given to me on Wednesday by my beloved friend Roisin Ingle, for ‘ideas for my new book’. So! I’ve made a start!”
“I’ve a couple of ideas knocking around but with both of them I’m frightened that I’m not talented or brave enough to carry them off. This is not a transparent plea for praise! I simply want to talk about limitations,” Marian shared.
“No-one can know their limitations until they hit them – and at that point they might be months deep in a project, 93% of the way up a mountain, 12 years into a marriage. And then what happens?
“A salvage operation is what happens. Sometimes a bodge job can pull things together, making the outcome acceptable if not ideal. Sometimes waiting things out gives unexpected insight, energy, a fresh perspective. And sometimes we’ve no choice but to give up on it: to fail. Which we – at least I – am terrified by.
“But the only way to avoid failure is to play it safe and I don’t want to do that either. So! I’m going to try to write the daunting, interesting book! Oh yes, I’m all gung-ho right now, showing off on Instagram, pretending I’m wise, but it will be a challenge every new day. We’ll see what unfolds…”
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Marian has been previously very open about her mental health struggles. She revealed that in 2010, while writing The Mystery of Mercy Close, she found herself battling depression so severe that she felt as if she was “living in hell”.
After sharing her experience online, Marian’s candid comments on mental health went viral, much to the author’s surprise.
“It was a very sudden descent into the most horrific state of mind. I knew I couldn’t write my newsletter, because I was in such a state of extreme fear,” she explained to the Irish Sun.
“I wrote a three line thing on my website saying ‘I’m suffering from a bout of depression, I can’t sleep and I can’t eat and I’ll be back with you soon’.
“It blew up, this huge thing. I’m obviously naive as I didn’t think anyone would be bothered. The story was due to be on the news. The idea it would be on the news seemed insane.”
It was during this time that Marian faced her biggest professional challenge; to continue writing a novel when her debilitating depression made even getting out of bed in the morning a challenge.
“I have so many versions of this book [The Mystery of Mercy Close] because I had a bad bout of mental health that went on when I was writing it,” she said.
“I had gaps that went on for months when I wrote nothing. For long spells during it I thought I wouldn’t be able to finish it.
“It demonstrates eventually how projects can get finished.”
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