Unleashing Creative Potential
Proof Why You Shouldn’t Let the Fear of Failure Stop You From Showing Up and Writing
Find The Courage to Write Imperfectly
Before we begin today, I want to know — “What makes you think you are going to make a mistake while writing your next piece?”
I ask because in the past I’ve let the fear of making a mistake stop me from showing up and writing.
I’ve let some unknown, unproven, and ridiculous fear interfere with my ability to practice and improve.
I’ve paid more attention to the fear than to the craft.
So, if making mistakes is a narrative holding you back in your writing practice, I want to walk you through one of my worst but most successful writing mistakes.
After writing for 7 months straight, this article struck a chord with the readers and helped me get some much-anticipated traction.
Looking back, it is one of my worst mistakes because the Medium Partner Program launch is yet to be a reality in India.
The information I wrote (while correct at the time of writing) still needs correcting.
Had I known it would be a mistake, I would’ve frozen and never written the article or realised what a wonderful learning opportunity it could be.
It was an accident.
The interesting bit?
So far, despite the misinformation, not a single person has said anything discouraging or negative.
This shows people are generally nice. They don't care about your mistakes because they are too engrossed in theirs.
The content of the article came from my observations and the time spent on Medium.
In general, it was supportive of creators and spoke about monetizing your writing here on Medium.
The sentiment, intent and topic of the article helped in keeping the trolls away.
What are some key takeaways from this experience?
- If you take a step, mistakes will happen.
- When you are authentic, the world will support you.
- Mistakes keep you honest, on your toes, and in alert mode.
- Mistakes help keep things fresh, exciting and non-monotonous.
- Mistakes mean things are less predictable and thus exciting.
- Write — especially when you think it’ll be a mistake. It’ll help you grow.
- No one knows if it’ll be a mistake. So you don’t decide. Your readers do.
Don’t let the fear of mistakes stop you from doing what you want to do.
You’ve made a decision based on some thoughts. Stop second-guessing your decisions.
I’ve held back for a long time. But, thanks to new mistakes, I’m learning from them.
What do you think is the worst that can happen when you make mistakes publicly?
