Stop Waiting for “Good Enough” Before Putting Your Work Out There
If you’re a writer, artist, or any type of creative, you know the struggle.
A folder full of unpublished drafts.
A watercolor set stashed away in a drawer and gathering dust.
The wistful, “I wish I wrote more” or “I’m not ready to show people my work.”
I feel you. It’s scary to bare your soul in a personal essay or spend hours on that painting — only for it to be ripped apart in the comments section. Or for your work to be totally ignored, and you’re left feeling like you’ve thrown your art into the void. You gotta love social media. It’s a breeding ground for insecurity and anxiety.
As a writer and resin artist, these fears run through my mind whenever I type up a draft or post photos of my art. When we share our work, we expose ourselves to scrutiny or utter apathy.
So we try to control the outcome. We obsess and snap countless photos until we’ve achieved “IG-worthy” content. We overthink the caption. We impose a vague standard on ourselves: “I’ll show my work when it’s good enough.”
The thing is, when you impose a vague and arbitrary standard on yourself, you may never get around to doing the thing. The goalpost will keep moving and always be down the road. Regret and unfulfillment will grow while time runs out.
My bigger fear than criticism and a lack of recognition? Leaving this world without saying all the things I wanted to say.
And so I write, perfection be damned. Something is better than nothing.
A prolific writer here on Medium said the cure to writer’s block is to get over yourself and just write. You’re only doing yourself and the world a disservice by holding out.
I’m striving to reach a point where I’m constantly comfortable sharing my raw and candid thoughts with people when it matters.
Someday, maybe I’ll cringe at some of the work I put out here. Or maybe I’ll say “Hmm. Not bad.” Either way, every piece of work is a snapshot of who I was at one point in time. We’re always a work in progress.
Keep writing. Keep creating. Free yourself from the pressure of being good enough.
