Just Do It.
On getting over your insecurities and hitting the “publish” button.
I like to take my time when it comes to blog posts.
Whenever I give myself a deadline, I work right up to the last minute, making sure that everything is as perfect as it can be, and ready for the people of the web to see.
I believe in taking pride in your work.
The problem that I always face with this mentality, however, is that I often go from “let’s make sure that this post is free of grammatical errors” to “oh my gosh, this is horrible and I’m never uploading it” really quickly. For me, the line between polishing and obsessing is often blurred, and I almost always find myself obsessing over a post so much that it ends up expiring in my draft box, and never seeing the light of day.
As a writer, you’re almost always working within a fragile window of opportunity; that opportunity is either the time that a topic will remain relevant for, or how long your passion for it will burn. And as you dillydally with your own insecurities, your post begins to suffer, and the work becomes much harder than it should be. Hesitation not only kills your work, but if you allow it to fester for long enough, then it can ulitmately damage your confidence, which you desperately need if you’re going to make it as a writer.
Always be sure to guard that confidence, even when you have to guard it from self-imposed attacks.
I’ve read a lot of great posts from some really great writers (a lot of them have been on here), and as I’ve read them and took note of their prose, and marveled at their apparent mastery of grammatical rules, I’ve often wondered if I’ll ever be that good. Of course, I think I’m a fine writer now, but I can’t lie and say that there isn’t ample room for improvement. I have a long way to go before I become the writer that I ultimately want to be, but in the meantime, I’m busting my butt to get to that point. I don’t expect to become a great writer overnight, and the hard work that I know is associated with honing my talent is not something that I take lightly. I know all of this, but there’s one thing that I have to keep telling myself in the meantime:
I still have things to say.
I still have a reason to write, and my opinions still need to be heard. I have stories that I need to tell, and advice that somebody needs to hear, and that’s why I continue writing. I’m far from being where I want to be as a writer, but I refuse to let my own insecurities keep me from putting out great work, and you shouldn’t either. Read over that post as much as you want to. Heck, have a friend or two read through it if it makes you feel better. But at some point, you have to make the decision to silence all of the voices telling you that it’s not good enough, and just hit “publish”.
Putting yourself out there truly is the first step to becoming who and/or what you want to be in this life.
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