The Magic Of Doing It Badly

Perfectionism is just procrastination in a fancy suit. It’s the voice that tells you if you can't do it perfectly, you shouldn't do it at all. So you don't start the gym, you don't write the first page, and you don't ask for the promotion. You stay safe, but you also stay stagnant. And stagnation is the enemy of hope. If you want to feel hopeful again, you have to be willing to be absolute trash at something for a little while.

There is a massive amount of freedom in giving yourself permission to suck. When the stakes are low, the joy comes back. Remember when you were a kid and you just drew pictures because it was fun? You didn't care about the 'aesthetic' or if it was 'post-worthy.' You were just creating. You need to find that version of yourself again. Do things badly. Run a slow mile. Paint a messy picture. Write a terrible first draft. Just do it.

Hope is generated through action, not through thinking about action. When you actually move your body or create something, you are breaking the spell of 'what if.' You are proving that you can exist in the world of the real, not just the world of the ideal. The more things you do badly, the more you realize that the world doesn't end when you fail. That realization is the ultimate foundation for resilience. It makes you brave.

We live in a culture that rewards the 'final product' but mocks the process. Don't fall for it. The process is where the growth is. The person who is willing to look like an idiot while they learn something new is always going to go further than the person who stays 'cool' but never evolves. Being 'mid' is a necessary step on the way to being great. Embrace your beginner status. It is the most hopeful place to be because everything is still possible.

So, what have you been putting off because you’re afraid of not being good at it? Go do it today, and do it poorly. Laugh at the mistakes. Enjoy the mess. You are reclaiming your life from the critics in your head. Every time you choose action over perfection, you are feeding your hope. You are showing yourself that you are alive and capable of change. And that is a vibe nobody can take from you.