Even though I had wanted to do so for a very long time, it wasn’t until recently that I finally published my first blog post. I had wanted to do this for years, but every time I actually sat down to write, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Or, I’d get half way through something and just stop. Nothing I wrote felt good enough, interesting enough, or funny enough…

So I moved on to other things… telling myself that I just needed the “right” thing to write about. Then it would be easier. Then I could do it, no problem.

It wasn’t until this past year that I began to see this was a pattern, not just with writing, but with many areas of my life. I’d start something, get an idea, wanna do something… but if it was the slightest bit challenging, I’d either crumble and back out… or get through it stressed, tired, and frustrated.

But…Why? Why couldn’t I just pursue the things I wanted to pursue…without all the doubts, without all the fear?

In short… I was aiming for perfection.

The truth was I didn’t want to publish anything because I was worried it wouldn’t be perfect. It’d be stupid, boring, and no one would read it… so why bother…right?

Wrong.

What I’ve come to realize is that…something doesn’t have to be perfect, for it to be something worth doing.

The truly successful people in life tell us over and over about how many times they’ve failed (some in admittingly bigger ways than others)… but that no matter how many times they failed, something propelled them to get back up and keep going. In time, it was usually revealed that it was these “failures” that ultimately led them to success. ﻿

I am not saying that it’s wrong to set high standards for yourself… and I’m not saying that we should be careless with our lives or the things we do. We should always be striving to do our best.

The problem occurs when we stop ourselves from even trying.

In aiming for perfection, ﻿we can end up talking ourselves out of opportunities where failure is a risk…telling ourselves that the end goal is impossible to reach so why even try? In doing so, we stunt our personal growth and fall into complacency without even knowing it.

We need to realize and accept that failure can be useful. It’s only by failing that we can pinpoint areas of weakness and make the whole even better. Without failure, we miss opportunities to create amazing things while also becoming better versions of ourselves.

Next time you find yourself stuck or hesitating out of fear that something won’t be enough…challenge your thoughts and imagine the worst case scenario and then ask yourself, so what?

Chances are, it won’t will not destroy you or break you…So, as long as you’re not harming yourself or anyone else…just go for it! Accept the challenges along the way and use them to grow. The experience you gain can only prepare you for the next best thing.