Is It a Writer’s Block? Or Is It Perfectionism?
Writer’s block sucks. It’s every writer’s worse enemy.
I’ve been going through one for quite some time now. To be more specific, it comes and goes.
I get these small moments of powerful inspiration and manage to hit publish on one article. And then my mind goes blank again.
Okay. Let me rephrase that. It doesn’t go blank. Quite the opposite. I’m usually inundated with ideas. But nothing gets written. It’s not that I’m lazy. I just can’t put my thoughts on paper.
I spend hours staring at the blank screen. Or I might write an entire article only to hit delete when it’s done.
I recently did just that. I wrote a 1,500-word article and deleted it as soon as it was done. So it got me thinking. Is this writer’s block just another name for perfectionism?
Many think perfectionism is the key to success. But in my experience, all perfectionism ever did for me was hold me back.
Perfectionism makes you procrastinate more often than you care to admit.
You keep rehearsing, preparing to do something so that you can do it perfectly. What you’re really doing more than half the time is holding yourself back. You’re stopping yourself from making progress.
In a way, I think that’s what happens to many writers. I’m pretty sure that’s what happens to me. Mix that with a bit of self-doubt, a splash of imposter syndrome, and you’re never getting anything done again.
This article was my challenge to kick me out of this state. So here I am. Writing a less than perfect article.
The alternative would be to go another day without hitting publish. Leaving the page blank because I can’t write the perfect article.
The truth is, there’s life between perfection and nothingness. And maybe that’s exactly where the beauty of life is.
