Ever have one of those days when it feels like molasses is running through your veins? It’s like everything around you just feels stuck. You don’t feel inspired by anything or anyone around you and it really annoys you. Quite frankly, you wonder what you’re doing with yourself and why you haven’t reached your goals yet…

I had one of these days (or several) recently and was feeling really bummed about it. Deep down inside you know you’re on the right track and that everything you’re working towards will come into fruition. But that inner reassurance you have does nothing for your immediate mood. And man does it stink. Sometimes you just need a little pick-me-upper, be it dark chocolate or cheap tequila (an old favorite of mine). But if you’re like me, these stress-induced indulgences don’t truly work, and get pretty old really quickly.

Well, today I had the most random burst of appreciation I’ve had in a long time. Don’t ask me why, but the amazing woman who wrote the infamous Harry Potter series came to mind today. Her name is J.K. Rowling (like she needs any introduction) and she is the epitome of a “rags to riches” story. Now what’s crazy is that I’ve never even read or seen anything Harry Potter in my life. But for some reason, in the midst of one of my “molasses moments”, I decided to look her up. Long story short, let’s just say I am in love hahaha. Do yourself a favor and read this woman’s story. It’s all there on her wikipedia entry. Here’s an excerpt that really struck home:

Seven years after graduating from university, Rowling saw herself as “the biggest failure I knew.” Her marriage had failed, she was jobless with a dependent child, but she described her failure as liberating:

“Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy to finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one area where I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter, and a big idea. And so rock bottom became a solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” – J. K. Rowling, Harvard commencement address, 2008.