Four years ago I sat down & told myself that I wanted to create content. It was only two years ago that I actually started to seriously create. Why did it take over two years to take action? Let me tell you.
I’m a recovering perfectionist. If something wasn’t done perfect in my eyes, it was better left not done. When I would build apps, make videos, write blogs, you name it, if it wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t published. Everything I did was met by that damned analysis-paralysis demon, making me weigh the pros/cons of doing something just to see if my brain would later approve the invoice.
All of this was a fear of failing. I was absolutely terrified of failing, so the easiest path forward was to do nothing. But then one day I listened to myself. I heard a voice in my head telling me that I needed to embrace failure. I should rather let that fear fuel the very things that will keep me working, thinking, and doing.
I was afraid of the thought of waking up in the next year and being no closer to my goals. I saw the last two years of my life go by effortlessly without a single action taken although the thoughts of achieving my goals would sit in my head rent-free. In other words, I’m dearly terrified of being stagnant.
Later down the line I found my failures to actually work for me, not against me. Every major time that I had failed or let myself down in terms of my expectations, I was able to learn a great deal from it. These failures helped me grow, to get slightly better at the craft, and learn more about my audience.
Now, I feel that if I didn’t fail, I didn’t try hard enough. So I keep pushing myself to do a little better everyday. Run the extra mile, try the crazier TikTok idea, or pitch the moon shot at work.
This is because I’m not afraid of failing. I’m afraid of not trying my best.