Is it Good Enough?

image from http://www.greythinking.com/

One of the problems that often hinders the work of creative people is perfectionism. Because of high (and usually unrealistic) self-expectations, we either don’t get started, or never finish. How many times have you shared a piece of work with friends, family, colleagues, or even harsh critics and, despite resounding praise and approval, put the work away never to show it again?

Not yet, we say to ourselves; it’s just not good enough.

Besides, perfectionists can’t be satisfied with “good enough” – we aim for the stars and anything less than that is absolutely NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!

Good enough?

Hogwash! That’s an insult to the mysterious and all-powerful muse! We’d rather die than merely be “good enough”.

And so we wallow around in the manic spurts of exhilarating production dissipated by abusive self-ranting. When the tides come and go rapidly, it’s exhausting; when they slow, it’s simply a life defined by manic depression.

 And that sucks.

I can’t say I’ve overcome the curse of perfectionism, but during one of my seasons of psycho-therapy, I gained a useful tool: it’s good enough.

No, really! This is a great tool! Don’t stop reading yet – give me a chance to explain.

“Good enough” is BETTER than nothing, and while we are waiting for perfection (in other words, beating ourselves up at every step that leads to perfection ), we create NOTHING.

Now let me tell you, if you want cause for punishment, it’s NOTHING.  You want to feel lousy about yourself? Try this one: I’m a creator who creates NOTHING.

Now, that’s shameful.

Roll that thought around in your head until it becomes your own. Swallow it so that you really get it in the depths of your being. Go ahead, think about it some more. When you own it, you can get to step 2.

Step 2: get started. Do what you can. Do the best you can do today even though that best isn’t anywhere near the best you believe you can do on some other, far-away fictitious day. Then say to yourself, “it’s good enough.”

Now, believe it.

Here’s a grain of truth: “Good enough” really is GOOD ENOUGH, and that is faaaaaar better than nothing.

What have you created today – GOOD ENOUGH, or NOTHING?

Just Gotta Do It

The nitty gritty of writing is much like the nitty gritty of living: some days you feel good and some days you don’t; sometimes everything goes your way and other times you can’t seem to do anything right. You just gotta do it anyway. You just have to get up and move through your day no matter how you feel about it. It’s the same with writing – you just have to do it!

No matter what life throws you, you keep on living. Whether you are sick or happy, excited or troubled, busy or lazy, you keep on living. Your heart beats, your blood flows, and your breath moves in and out through your lungs. No matter what the circumstances of your life may be, you keep on living. Writing is really no different.

I write because I’m alive. It’s really that simple. I write because I think – they are not separate actions. I think more than I write just like the beats of my heart outnumber the steps of my feet, but many of the thoughts I have get written down somewhere, sometime, somehow.

When I don’t feel like writing, I usually berate myself in writing. When I am worried about something, I lay out my concerns in writing so I can either manage them or destroy them. When I am excited about something or totally moved by some life experience, I have to put words to it in order to preserve it.

Writing isn’t about creating genius masterpieces to impress anyone with your gift; it’s about living. Writing is the expression of living. You do it because you just gotta do it. Once you accept this fact about your own existence in this world, I promise you, your blood will flow more freely and your heart will pump more steadily.

Yes, the nitty gritty of writing is really synonymous with the nitty gritty of living: like it or not, you just gotta do it!