You know the drill. I spend hours writing, working on, and editing my articles. Trying to come up with a great title, picture, make sure it’s well written – all that good stuff.
Then when I go to publish, I inevitably think to myself, “Well, hopefully, I get at least one like, because this may be my worst piece yet.“
But even though I think that, I don’t fully believe it. I feel like my writing has improved dramatically over the past few months and that in hindsight I progress with every post. But then why do I insist on telling myself that each time?
The honest answer is: I don’t know. Maybe I’m setting my expectations at the minimum to protect myself from disappointment. Maybe I don’t think they’re good enough. Or maybe I need some sort of validation before I can actually believe that it’s any good.
After all, everything that I’ve already posted has some sort of positive feedback. It’s in the form of likes and comments, which I admit is an unfair way to frame it.
But still, it doesn’t stop me from thinking, “Whereas this one? This never before seen, potential pile of flaming garbage? This could be the one where everybody will decide that I don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m not that smart, or I’m not a good writer.”
But then…
Something happens. I publish it anyway. I read some blogs, leave some comments, and move on with my life. Then when I come back the next day, there are normally some likes! Maybe even 10! Sometimes there are a couple of comments or a handful of them!
Can you believe it?! I’m not the worst writer ever! This wasn’t my worst piece yet!
The thing is, yea I’m making light of how I think about it, but it’s not that far off. I really do have these fears and beliefs. And often I struggle with how I see my work and my abilities.
Early on in my blogging journey, I struggled much more with these thoughts. It was a battle. A constant back and forth of obsessively re-writing, over-editing, and over-analyzing. It was way overboard for pieces that were only getting a handful of views. Sometimes it was so frustrating that I would have to just leave posts unpublished and come back to it later.
Persistence is the way
But there’s one thing that I want to make clear because it’s incredibly important. Persistence is the way. Through practice and consistency, I have made significant progress. It used to be tough for me, now it’s no big deal. I wanted to improve, so I kept working at it, and I’ve succeeded.
Before I would stress over the publish button and whether it was good enough. Now, I’m still not always confident about how my pieces will be received, but I no longer stress over that part of it. I may have those nagging thoughts, but I can always bring myself to say, “here goes nothing,” and publish it anyway.
Knowing who you are, your tendencies, and how you act is important. As someone who was too apprehensive about posting, getting to a point where I could fight through the discomfort and just go for it is a good thing. If you’re someone who has the opposite problem where you’re more than willing to post and sometimes let regrettable things slip through, then you’ll have a different goal to shoot for.
We may not all be on the same track, but we’re on the same journey. My philosophy of life is all about progress and growth. Try new things, learn new stuff, and improve. But don’t improve for the sake of being better than other people – improve because the richness of life is often found through deeper understanding. Being able to appreciate the complexities and intricacies of life makes it all the more fascinating.
You want to be great? Start with good.
Another thing that I’ve learned to remind myself is that not every piece that I write has to be a home run. And most of them won’t be. As a writer, I think that part is really important to appreciate.
No artist paints only perfect paintings. No writer writes only perfect pieces. No musician writes only perfect music.
My ultimate goal is to write great pieces. But in order to write great ones, I must be accepting of good ones and even bad ones. It’s a numbers game. Of the pieces that I post, I imagine the quality breakdown looks something like this: 10% are subpar. 50% are passable. 30% are good. 9% are great. And maybe 1% of my work is amazing.
Sometimes you’ll do great, sometimes it will be just alright, and sometimes it will be flat-out awful. Acknowledging and accepting this will give you the freedom to experiment and try things you’re unsure of.
I will add that although not every piece that you create will be great, in most creative fields, you have to choice of whether or not to release it. This can give a false impression of what percentage of projects end up turning into great ones.
It takes time
From the outside, we hear the perfect albums or the one-hit wonders and we think, “I guess this person is just more talented than I am.”
But what you don’t hear are the hundreds of songs or pieces that didn’t make the cut and never saw the light of day. The thousands of deleted ideas and attempts.
It takes time.
I don’t think that I’ve had a monumentally bad piece yet. I’ve certainly had pieces that I thought would do well and ended up doing just alright. Then a couple of weeks ago, I got my first article ever curated into 3 Medium topics. It’s called “Trying New Things: Outdoor Rock Climbing“. I enjoyed writing the piece and thought it was solid – but admittedly, it didn’t feel like one of my best posts.
So in my experience, judging my own work can be difficult. I think the best answer is: when in doubt, just hit publish. Or if you have someone willing to read it for you before publishing, that’s great too. Because after publishing 60+ times so far, not once have I regretted doing so. Every time I was nervous, but every time it was the right thing to do and the way forward.
Only once you publish your work can it be brought to life, encourage a conversation of its own, and live up to it’s fullest potential. If you get hung up on the negatives and talk yourself out of publishing, you’ll never know what could have been.
Just push through and post it anyway.
That’s all for this one! What did you think? How do you feel about hitting that publish button? Do you have a similar life philosophy? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment below!
If you enjoyed this article, please consider following, liking, or checking out my other articles at http://www.mindpowergrow.com
Mind Power Grow 
Thank you Evan!
Really needed to read something like this today, sometimes there is a crippling fear of how terrible of a writer I might be and then going through with the action I never regret it and I am so glad to find others that I can relate to. Thank you for hopefully inspiring many more to do the same and to click that publish button, to walk into that gym or to even be able to begin the journey of personally growing in whatever way they find most challenging.
Really appreciated this and enjoyed how much it resonated with me today especially.
LikeLike
You’re welcome, Heather!
It’s always nice to hear when other people can relate to my work. It’s so easy to be your own biggest critic, but I’m right there with you. Never regretted just going for it! 🙂
Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.
LikeLike
Hi Evan, I think this is so true in many of us. And this post was like reading my heart out! Thanks for sharing.
LikeLike
Hi Offshorewriter! You’re welcome and I’m glad that you could relate 🙂
LikeLike
I’ve decided that I like writing so that’s a good enough reason to keep on doing it.
LikeLike
Hey momrockzz. That’s a great reason to keep doing it. No hesitation! 🙂
LikeLike
I feel the same way, often. ❤️🦋🌀
LikeLike
Hi there Sheila! Always nice to know there’s other people who understand. 🙂
LikeLike
This. Yes. 100%. Also, have you noticed the stuff you think is your best work gets the fewest views and likes? I think it’s the universe teaching us not to care and JUST. WRITE.
LikeLike
Hey Ben!
Haha yep! I’ve definitely thought that. Crazy how that works, huh? I’m with you though, sometimes you just gotta start writing. 😀
LikeLike
My “best” stuff comes when I Just. Don’t. Want. To. Write. A good lesson to learn.
LikeLike
Thanks Evan. Appreciate the encouragement and from your perspective.
LikeLike
Hi DMarie! You’re welcome and thank you too for the support! 🙂
LikeLike
Hey, Evan! Let me tell you something. You’re a great writer. Keep going. You really know how to choose topics for your blog!
LikeLike
Hey Brittlechoice!
You know what. I really appreciate all of those kind words! Thank you very much for the encouragement. 😀
LikeLike
I recently started writing blogs, this is actually something beyond expectations. I’am just 20 now and you are a great writer I must say. Hope to improve myself in your guidence.
LikeLike
Hi Namrata Morwal!
Thank you for the kind words. If you want to improve your writing, you can. Just keep practicing and stay consistent!
And I’m glad to hear that my writing helps. 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you for this post. I am a newby and I am learning not to critique myself so harshly.
LikeLike
Hi Someone.
You’re welcome! Everybody starts somewhere. There’s no shame in being new. The only way forward is by trying so sometimes you just gotta hit publish! You’ll get there. 🙂
LikeLike
First off this is a great post and please always publish! Overcoming your fears and persevering anyway is a great way to live life. I focus on this daily chasing my own discomforts. I’m glad your pushing through yours too.
LikeLike
It sounds like we share a similar philosophy. Thank you for the support and encouragement and I hope that you continue to do the same! 🙂
LikeLike
Hello! I really enjoyed this article, since I can relate to it. This is not only good advise for blogging, but also for life in general. Thanks for sharing, and please continue writing😊
LikeLike
Hi May!
You’re welcome. It’s always nice to when someone can relate. I appreciate the encouragement and I definitely will! 😀
LikeLike
What a great way to look at blogging. Sometimes “done” is better than “great”. And honestly, you can’t really know what is going to strike a chord with people. I joked recently that, in my prior blog, the post that got the most attention over four years was about Val Kilmer’s elbow. And I’m not just talking about a little attention. That post got 18,000 views whereas the rest of my blog posts were holding steady around 150-500. I can’t explain it. Nor will I try. And I refuse to always write about things because I think they will get views or likes. If you write from the heart (or even the funny bone), people will come around. And if they don’t – that’s ok too. It makes me feel better just putting a little slice of my brain out there. Keep posting!!!
LikeLike
Hi Lindsey!
Thank you. And I totally agree, you really just never know which ones are gonna stick. Like you said, the only way to find out is to keep posting!
It also reminds me of “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.” Most of the time good is good enough. 🙂
LikeLike
I love this piece.
LikeLike
Thank you Segunmorakinyo.
LikeLike
This was great work! Needed this
LikeLike
Thank you Kyra! Glad I could help 🙂
LikeLike
Hello, I’m new to blogging and your article really inspired me to hit that publish button without hesitating. You’ve captured everything amazingly well!
LikeLike
Hey Ectasy! That’s awesome! I’m glad to hear it and thank you compliment! 🙂
LikeLike
Great post. As someone at least as wise as I once said: “Ain’t nothin’ to it but to do it.”
LikeLike
I’m learning to appreciate that one more every day. 🙂
Thanks Stephen!
LikeLike
Wow, I think this one resonates with me. I just started writing everyday because they said, it’s the way to improve to which I am beginning to believe. I am just less than a month of this activity, and sometimes it disappoints me to end up writing a 3min-piece as per WordPress, in about 2-3 hours. I just hit publish because I’m decided not to spend too much time as blogging isn’t my main goal for now (I have another one but still related to writing). And since, it isn’t my main goal, I don’t think too much about how it will be accepted. But still, I am doing my best to come up with the best article that I can make. In fact after publishing it, I still go back to edit when I noticed something off.
Yes, your blogs are good, flawless and coherent. Having said this, I am at ease that what took me long to write mine is surely longer for you to come up with your beautiful pieces (your no. of likes validates that) that are with matching relevant pics.
And congrats on your article that’s being featured in another medium. Hardwork pays off huh!
There are lots of stuff you’ve mentioned up there that I can relate. I am not a native English speaker and I am assuming you are. I thought writing for you would come out naturally as you don’t have to worry how to express yourself. I guess, writing is really a skill.
More power to you!!
LikeLike
We are our own worst critic, or at least can be most of the time. It is difficult to break out of this cycle, and to remember exactly what you’ve said: for every brilliant piece of art, there are potentially innumerable pieces that were steps stones in the way to its creation.
I have only just started to realise in my own journey, towards writing a fantasy book, and recording and releasing am EP, that trying things is ok. It is even good! Making mistakes and learning from them is part of the process, and if we encourage ourselves to do that it can even be fun!
As long as we keep being brave, and hitting that publish button – on WordPress or in any other area of our life – we are learning and making progress.
Thank you for your words. 🙂
LikeLike
Wow Hamish, extremely well put! I couldn’t have said it better myself. I think one of the most interesting parts about the journey is that as you learn and progress, you uncover questions that you never would have had at the beginning. The most interesting gains come as a result of building upon prior mastery or growth.
Reminds me of this quote, except I would amend it to say ‘pursuing a journey’ instead of ‘writing a novel.’
“Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as the headlights but you can make the whole trip that way.” -E.L. Doctorow
Like you said, as like as we keep being brave and pushing ourselves in any area, we can learn and grow.
You’re welcome and thank you too for your thoughts! 😀
LikeLike
Nice job! I like your total honesty about feelings that all writers encounter.
I agree that being a perfectionist can hold us back and it eats up lots of time. However, we are the person we were created to be, and it’s admirable to want to get it right! Have fun and keep writing!
LikeLike
Thank you, Faith!
It’s always nice to hear when someone can relate! I agree that I’m right where I need to be and growing every day. I appreciate the encouragement! 🙂
LikeLike
This is so very true. Recently I published a post on my blog and i was expecting people to come rushing in but it didn’t happen so i thought of letting it marinate for a while and concentrated on doing things which make me happy. Truth be told, i was a little upset so i kept myself busy at work and doing other stuff when i wasn’t working. But when i came back after two days without any expectations, i saw so many likes and comments. I guess it’s all about divine timing and letting it go!
LikeLike
Nicce post thanks for sharing
LikeLike