Over the past 2 weeks, I've doubled down on creating content across a wide array of digital channels. The desire to do this is not new. Quite the contrary, in fact. Like many things we desire creating or pursuing, this mission existed in that large bucket of goals that we just don't yet feel "ready" for.
But-- in case you haven't noticed-- we rarely feel "ready."
We put a lot of pressure on "readiness." We expect it to find us, and pull us towards our desires at some theoretical "right time." But, if you wait around for that feeling, you'll only find it (along with a ton of regret) at your funeral. A bit morbid -- I know. But, that's the killer truth.
Instead, the healthiest (and most satisfying) thing that we can do for ourselves, is to just do it. And, more specifically -- fake feeling ready.
In this week's video, I hit on 3 simple things to keep in mind when trying to overcome readiness hesitation. These are literally sticky notes on my computer. They're extremely basic. And yet, reminding myself of these on a daily basis has helped me overcome the inertia of just getting started. This blog would not exist without them. Check out the video for more context!
Completion is more satisfying (and valuable) than perfection.
Not "feeling ready" is a delay tactic by fear.
You can only build "readiness" by attempting it.
Inertia of Readiness
There's a ton of inertia that we have to overcome before we start doing the things we want to do. We like to "put our best foot forward." But, that can be scary. What that statement essentially says is:
Make high quality stuff.
And that, is really intimidating. To help me deal with this, I've started adopting a slightly counter-intuitive personal mantra.
Quantity over Quality.
Now, if you're sitting there saying -- Uh. No. -- bare with me. The inverse of this is the more familiar phrase that we typically hear: "quality, not quantity." But, when you're just getting started pursuing something where you have interest but not yet ability -- this statement becomes crippling. It makes you frantically obsess over your Version 1.0, and causes you to delay actually putting it out there into the world. (Don't even ask how long it took me to put together my first vlog).
The best things we can do for ourselves when we're just starting to create, is create. Constantly. Ruthlessly. And with radical consistency -- but, not necessarily perfect, or even great, quality. Quantity will naturally foster quality over time. But, your maniacal focus on quality will not necessarily produce consistent quantity. You'll be emotionally exhausted by the stress of perfection after creating... like, 2 things. This is not motivating. We need to do what will motivate our consistancy -- and that's the satisfaction of completion.
For me, the marginal improvements in the quality of my content are not worth the tradeoff in weeks of my delay -- because during those weeks, I could have already been receiving more targeted feedback on the content that I got out there.
Get in the Arena
I'll leave you with one final thought here. Oftentimes, people optimize for quality over quantity in order to "feel ready" because they don't want to get negative feedback. This is a normal instinct. I came face-to-face with this type of feedback last week when I got my first "hater" comment on an Instagram post. They strongly disagreed with the point I was making (which is fine, but the tone was not). But, guess what? That hater had no posts of their own -- literally zero. And that reminded me of one of my favorite quotes by Brené Brown:
"If you're not in the arena also getting your ass kicked, I'm not interested in your feedback."
Holding onto this quote has allowed me to be more productive and less self-critical. Because unlike most haters, seated in the stands-- "un-ready" and downright blind to their impending deposition-- I'm actually in the arena. And that, alone, is a win.
So, get out there, Gladiator. You got this.
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