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So the thing about perfectionism is that it's not ultimately about doing it well.

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It's really about never doing it well enough. Like, no matter how

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much you plan, no matter how hard you do it, your inner critic is going to sabotage you,

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or is going to tell you that it's not good enough, or is going to tell you that,

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yeah, that was pretty good, but can you do it again? And that cyclic thinking that we get into

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ultimately is

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one of the things we must overcome. Because

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being a perfectionist isn't an admirable trait.

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We may say to ourselves, well, you know, I have higher standards,

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and that's why I can't really get stuff done. But to be honest with you, that's bullshit.

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The fact is, you're afraid. You're afraid of being judged by yourself or by others.

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And it's better to stay in the starting blocks than it is to come in second or third or fourth

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or fifth place. It's better to not move at all than to risk falling on your face.

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So when I see people kind of, kind of, not kind of, boasting, sort of, not really,

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but boasting about their perfectionism, I'm not impressed. I don't think it's cool or great or you're

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super foxy because, you know, you really need to do it well or else you're not going to bother.

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I think it's a lame excuse for not just jumping in and trying it. Because the fact is

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that you will only get better. You will only approach this perfection that you

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so desperately need by doing something

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and by doing it again and again and again.

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And I say all this not to insult you or hurt your feelings, but because I am one too. I am there. I'm a fellow sufferer.

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And I know that this impulse has done nothing to advance the quality of what I do.

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It's just held me back. Because the only way to get better is to keep going and to keep doing stuff.

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And perfectionism just gets in that way. And I think there are certain tools,

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like for instance, the computer, that make it worse.

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Because you can always Command-Z. You can always

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nudge it a pixel to the left, a pixel to the right. You can always change the color.

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of this one that way.

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And

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?I think you're just delaying judgment when you do that.

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There's a tremendous arrogance built into perfectionism. This assumption that you

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have these higher standards, that you understand the name of how to achieve that perfection.

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But, others may not see it.

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But you know, you do. And you know,

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you're working towards it. You're going to get there, maybe.

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But I think that's hubris, you know.

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Because I don't know that your standards are any better than anybody else's.

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I think that you may be noticing certain details and thinking that they need to be improved.

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?But you may be missing the forest for the trees.

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You may put it in the hands of somebody else who suddenly notices that actually there's something bad or

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good you hadn't even noticed or counted on.

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But by putting it out there, by releasing it, by not clutching it to your breast,

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but saying, have it world. Let's see what happens.

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You're fearful and you're avoiding the risk.

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So

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think about this.

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This is the time to seize this problem by the throat and choke it out of your life.

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Because nobody is paying attention right now.

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We need solutions to so many things right now. And we don't need perfect ones.

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If we waited for the perfect cure,

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how many people would die in the meantime?

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If we waited for the perfect loaf of bread, how many people would starve?

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This is no time for perfection. This is the time for action.

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In all manner of things, including in your life, in my life, in every corner of the planet,

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there's an opportunity to move things ahead, but not

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if we insist it has to be perfect before we can share it,

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before we can put it out there, before we can test it, or perhaps

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before we can even begin it.

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And you're hurting no one but yourself. I'm hurting no one but me by this incessant need to get it right

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before I'll put myself out there.

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You know, I mean, I

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I embrace my failings, my wonkiness,

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not necessarily because I think it's the best style or approach, but honestly, a lot of times,

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because I kind of don't know how to do it any better, and if I wait to figure it out,

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I won't actually get anything done. So I'm a pretty productive person, but that's

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basically because I kind of know myself well enough to know that I probably can't do it that

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well. Anything. Whether it's writing or drawing or streaming on YouTube or giving advice or anything,

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I can think of a lot of reasons why I shouldn't be doing anything that I do.

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But I decided that that's not what I want to do. I don't want to sit around thinking of those reasons.

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I'd rather plunge in.

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So

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take this as a hall pass, this time we're in. Say to your inner critic,

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that monkey in your head, we'll be perfect when the world is perfect. And right now, the world is

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messed up. And that's permission. That's permission to just do what you do. Be you.

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Cracks and flaws. It's okay. Surviving

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is the bare minimum of what we should be doing right now.

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?I think, I don't think we should just be surviving.?I think we should be

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looking for ways

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to make things better, but not perfect. Because anybody who had plans about perfection when all of this happened

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believe me, they were the ones who suffered the most. Because perfection is all

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about a need for control. To control everything, to control the outcome, to control the results,

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to control the response. You don't have that control, my friend. Whatever's happened is

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happened. It's out of your control. Live with it. Embrace it. See it as an aesthetic,

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as an approach to life. An approach that says,

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I'm going to make it wonky. I'm going to splatter some ink on it.

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I'm going to have thumbprints on it. I'm going to misspell a word. Don't begrudge

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the world, your creativity, because you're afraid of making a mess.

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You know, the Japanese call appreciation of messiness or imperfection wabi-sabi,

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like the cracks and chips and wrinkles that happen in things that are weathered and aged.

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We're all getting weathered and aged every day. We're getting wrinkled. We're getting scarred.

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We need haircuts. We're putting on weight. We're not getting enough cardio.

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That's the way it is right now. It's okay.

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You know, you can't let that hold you back. Because the thing is,

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if you allow yourself to go forward despite your perfectionism,

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you may stumble upon things that are magical and amazing.

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Your perfectionism could be holding you back from massive discoveries, from beautiful experiences.

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Embrace your imperfection. Embrace your amateurism. Embrace your

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how far you still have to go and get on with it. Make some stuff.