many times i get caught in a tension.i have an idea for something good. something to make the world better. something that will add value.
the idea has an "ultimate" or "ideal" goal. that's what i get passionate to create.
but the further i go, the more it looks like that "ideal" may not be possible... at least not any time soon. or it may take a really long time.
so, i get caught in a tension of taking the time to perfect or just launching & going for it although it won't be as great as i want it to be.
i often get paralyzed on the "perfecting" side of the tension, but i REALLY want to shift my life to the other side. just going for it. just putting it out there & maybe perfect it (or make it better) along the way. because then... at least it's "out there."
but then the voices come. the critics. "what are you doing?" "That's not good enough to launch/throw out there/ etc..."
this voice of the critic is so powerful to me because i know they are right. i KNOW that it's not as good as i want it to be. their critique is resonating with my own.
but maybe... maybe instead of letting that critique paralyze me further i should simply ask...
"what are YOU doing?"
something needs to be done. someone needs to do something about this & i'm going to try with this. "remind me, what are you doing, again?"
or what am I even doing if i don't do this? isn't this better than the NOTHING we've both been doing about it?
surely.
"wouldn't it be better to just do SOMETHING. even if it's not as good as you think you could do it. but you're not actually doing anything. so, surely my something is better than your nothing."
so, the voices we hear are mainly from the critics who are also doing nothing. nothing to solve the problem or create something that's needed.
that's why i was encouraged by this awesome post from Seth Godin below. (you can also read it here.)
[i finally updated my Pulse app on my iPhone and saw that this was a read that MOVED me back in September 2011... almost a year ago... so i saved it to circle back around. i needed this reminder from Seth today as much as 1 year ago!]
[also thankful that Pulse has synced with my Read it Later (now called Pocket) app to form my combined favorite App in the world!!!]
here are Seth's wise (as usual) words...
“What would you have me do instead?” [seriously, just give a better suggestion. i'm all ears.]
To the critic who decries a project as a worthless folly, something that didn’t work out, something that challenged the status quo and failed, the artist might ask,
“Is it better to do nothing?”
To the critic who hasn’t shipped, who hasn’t created his art, anything less than better-than-what-I -have-now appears to be a waste. To this critic, progress should only occur in leaps, in which a fully functioning, perfected new device/book/project/process/system appears and instantly and perfectly replaces the current model.
We don’t need your sharp wit or enmity, please. Our culture needs your support instead.
Each step by any (and every) one who ships moves us. It might show us what won’t work, it might advance the state of the art or it might merely encourage others to give it a try as well.
To those who feel that they have no choice but to create, thank you.
& might i add... please continue.
