The One Sneaky Enemy in the Way of your Success, and How to Eliminate Him

byjavila95

203 followers

9 years ago

I recently read a book by author Steven Pressfield called The War of Art. I highly suggest you read it, if you haven't already. It has solutions to problems concerning writer's block and inaction; both which are too common in the work that internet marketers do. One of the most practical tricks I have been applying from this book has significantly increased my productivity. Today, I will be sharing this trick with you.

Perhaps you are struggling to begin writing your next post on your website, or maybe you know you can learn how to complete a task but you simply cannot bring yourself to actually do it. This enemy is present in anything you know you must do.

It's an enemy disguised as a sidekick, standing over your shoulder, bugging you for attention; his ultimate satisfaction is to halt your work under the excuse of improving it.

Do you who I'm talking about?

Perfectionism.

Many of us in the community have been brought up with an understanding that quality work is essential. Growing up, my father used to say: "Si no lo vas a hacer bien, mejor no lo hagas", [Do it well, or do not do it at all].

This mindset has some value in our business, but it must be kept in check. Otherwise, our striving to do good work can become a paralyzing obsession with perfection.

So, how do we combat this enemy?

Simple, throw shit on the wall.

Next time you catch yourself thinking about something for too long, think to yourself:

"Screw it, just do it"

Then proceed to go with the first option that comes to mind.

The reason is because the more you do something, the better you become at it. This is an axiom of life. You will learn more from doing something 10 times than you will from doing one thing once and spending long hours making it perfect. Ira Glass said it best:

That time that you spend fixing details while writing a post, or obsessing over the many possible results of our decisions are better spent choosing a decision and experiencing the results. You will soon learn that most of the consequences that we fear will harm us never occur at all. And if they do, you simply learn from your decision and deal with it.

Find value in everything you do, especially in your biggest failures. Experience is the best teacher after all.

Next time you're wondering about doing something you're not completely certain about, just do it. Do not let yourself spend hours dwelling on the problems the future might bring. Such doubts are merely perfectionism looming over your shoulder once again. Do not allow him to inject self doubt into your work to the point that it slows you down or prevents you from doing anything.