📈 Post 50

We made it to 50!

From the start, this blog has been a personal exercise. I started it to explore ideas and practice writing.

There have been good and bad posts. However, I believe the quality of posts is trending upward. I can confidently say post #51 will be better than post #1.

In the beginning, hitting publish was intimidating; it still is. When you hit publish you put yourself out there for everyone to read and critique. You don’t know who is reading and you are not able to defend yourself. It is a vulnerable feeling.

When starting my goal was just to publish something. I was concerned I would not have anything to say, or wouldn’t be able to translate my thoughts into words. Quality was not the primary focus, quantity was.

A while ago I heard the saying “Perfection is the enemy of progress," which has stuck with me. If I had worried about perfecting the first post, I would have never hit publish. I never would have published 50 posts. However, the quality has gotten better throughout those 50 posts. I have gotten better.

It can be difficult to accept when something isn’t perfect. I think it can be helpful to change your mindset. Thinking about posts #1-50 as practice for post #51 lowers your expectations. This makes it easier to get started.

By not focusing on perfection, you will produce a higher quality of work in the end. The hurdle that is “perfection” is too great, it hinders progress. By removing this hurdle, you allow yourself to progress and thus produce a higher quality of work. It just may take 50 tries.

So, what is my goal for the next 50? It is to make post #101 the best it can be. Just as my first 50 posts were practice for #51, posts #51-100 will be practice for post #101.

To do this I want to spend more time on each post. Now that I have proved to myself that am able to publish, I am less driven by the fear of not publishing. Good writing is writing that has been rewritten. I want to spend more time rewriting and editing my work. This may mean switching to two posts a month instead of one a week (although we all know this is a rough schedule).

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read these, especially those who respond. I really enjoy reading responses, but disagree with me more!

Looking forward to the next 50!

– Mitch

Quote of the Week

“Perfection is the enemy of progress” — Winston Churchill