#8 Why I'm OK with being mediocre

I’ve changed.

I’ve just realised, I’ve gone from a “never show your work until it’s perfect” kind of person, to a “put things out anyways and cry if you must” kind of person. And it’s been incredible.

I’ve been programmed to only produce ‘good’ work. To do my research first. To practice until perfect. I’m so scared of people seeing sub-par work. Of people thinking I’m embarrassing, or stupid, or the worst of the worst: that I don’t know just how mediocre my work is.

Because I really do.

But one of the best things I’ve ever heard about this, is Seth Godin’s response to someone asking him why they just weren’t very good at writing.

His answer: “Show me your bad work.”

And they had nothing to show. I’ve often been in the same position. I do spend a lot of time thinking about things I want to do, scared that if I tried I wouldn’t be good - but not actually trying.

And it seems so simple and obvious: but how do I expect to improve if I don’t put out terrible work first?

You can tell a lot about how good someone is at what they do by how much terrible work they’ve already produced.

So knowing this, reminding myself of this, convincing myself that things are guaranteed to improve if you just keep working, is the way I see things now.

My mantra: keep producing work you hate, until you start producing work you love.

Hope you have a great week!

Love,

Liz xx

Full article here :)