Only to fail again.
That’s my story of trying to show up here everyday. It’s been a constant struggle as life often (read: all the time!) gets in the way. I guess the only reason to continue trying is to remind me that things will never be perfect and that’s okay.
As a recovering perfectionist (at least when it comes to the things I care about and writing is one of them), I take immense pride in ‘doing it right’ and providing value. But it takes a toll on me given my full-time job, a family to nurture, a couple of side-hustles and a myriad of side-projects taking up a chunk of space and time from my life.
I need to get real. And that’s precisely when I need to remind myself on the value of shipping it. Seth says the best, “Ship often. Ship lousy stuff, but ship. Ship constantly.”
A few other nuggets of wisdom that you and I will benefit to remember include:
“…the lizard brain, your prehistoric brain stem, the part of your brain that is responsible for revenge, fear, and anger. The lizard brain is eternally vigilant, trying to keep people from noticing you (which is dangerous). The lizard brain hates failure, and thus it hates creativity or the launch of anything that might make a fuss (which can lead to failure).” — Seth Godin
Alexa Rohn, Shipping for the Uninitiated
I didn’t want to create art for art’s sake; I wanted to do work that mattered, that made a difference in people’s lives. Not tomorrow, today.
I didn’t want to let a project sit on the shelf, constantly tweaking and re-tweaking, vainly attempting to reach perfection.
I wanted to fall in love with “good enough.”
I wanted to stop giving in to the fear of failure.
I wanted to put something out there — warts and all.
I wanted to change something.Certainly, there’s a need for perfectionists in the world. When it comes to air traffic control or brain surgery, we want workers who are obsessed with quality. But where I spend most of my time, quite frankly, we need more people to ship.
Creativity is the act of narrowing possibilities and making important decisions. It’s hard and painful and most creatives don’t do it. They just imagine.
But I want more. I want to create. I want to change. I want to ship.
Jeff Goins, Shipping (A Seth Godin-ism)
Shipping is fraught with risk and danger.
Every time you raise your hand, send an email, launch a product or make a suggestion, you’re exposing yourself to criticism. Not just criticism, but the negative consequences that come with wasting money, annoying someone in power or making a fool of yourself.
It’s no wonder we’re afraid to ship.
It’s not clear you have much choice, though. A life spent curled in a ball, hiding in the corner might seem less risky, but in fact it’s certain to lead to ennui and eventually failure.
Since you’re going to ship anyway, then, the question is: why bother indulging your fear?
Seth Godin, Fear of Shipping
The crux is right here — irrespective of what your goal is you have to keep showing up, that’s your responsibility. How you feel is basically The Resistance at play. It’s waiting. Fight it. Ship!