“Work finally begins when the fear of doing nothing exceeds the fear of doing it badly,” advises the author Alain de Botton.
Perfection is the antithesis of inspiration — it prevents you from getting started.
The trick to getting going is to do it badly. To do that, one must be intentionally messy. The art of spontaneity asks you to start before you’re ready. Don’t over-think the process; intensify the habit of doing.
The emancipatory power in getting started helps jumpstart creativity.
Producing crap isn’t the end-goal. There is no quality without quantity — first, we get going, then we deduce.
“If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word.”
Margaret Atwood
The point of taking small actions is to create enough momentum to feel like we’re winning. You’re looking to go from one pushup a day to two the next week, four thousand steps a day to five-hundred.
You’ll need to write one-hundred words day after day before developing the muscle to consistently get down two-hundred words. By the way, there is no such thing as writer’s block!
Do small things to get started — no matter how poorly — to avoid second-guessing yourself and prime the motivational pump.
Comments
7 responses to “If you’re struggling to get started, do it badly”
Will take your advice 😉 I just needed to read this
Thanks Ali — what are you aiming for?
I think, with this advice, one can accomplish absolutely anything. The idea of embracing Imperfection has changed my entire outlook on ambition. I love this post.
For sure. The goal is to do things slowly and with purpose. To quote Gladwell: “We need to be a little bit more tortoise-y and a little less hare-ish.”
wbaum.blog/smallthings
Consistency is key in all things! It is definitely easier to grow a habit than to jump in at your max with no build up