Hi friends!
Happy Friday.
I started a writing course called Write of Passage a few weeks ago. On the first night of the course, the main instructor, David Perrell, and the course manager, Will Mannon, discussed a common reason people don’t make it through the course.
They called it “Write of Passage guilt.” It is the guilt people feel for not finishing all of the assignments in the course.
This is my second time through the course.
I know the feeling they’re describing well. I felt it during my first time through the course where I abruptly quit because I couldn’t keep up with the assignments. There were too many, too quickly.
At least that’s what I told myself.
At the start of this second time through, I told myself I’d a.) do a better job of keeping up with the assignments and b.) continue to show up regardless of whether or not I completed the work.
When I started the course, I got curious about what kept me from showing up. What kept me from completing the assignments.
And I realized it was perfectionism, not the other reasons I gave (read: excuses I made).
If my assignments weren’t perfect, I wouldn’t show them to anyone. There are some obvious flaws with this thinking, namely:
1.) Perfection is a myth.
2.) The only way to approach perfection, to improve, is to share your work, get feedback, and publish.
On that same first night, someone said something that shattered the illusion of perfectionism. The phrase would become my mantra for the rest of the course.
The mantra?
Progress over perfect.
I’ve heard it said before in different ways. For example:
Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
But this time, it clicked.
I committed to making progress and releasing the need for perfection.
When we commit to progress, we also commit to the process. To showing up. We give ourselves permission to make a mess, to explore and have fun.
Last week I published a newsletter I wasn’t exactly proud of. I had been traveling for most of the week and didn’t give it the attention I wanted to.
I told myself it could wait a day. Or a few days. Or a week. Or maybe I’d give up altogether.
But then I remembered the commitment I made to myself.
I published the newsletter.
And it became my best performing newsletter yet. When I tweeted about the experience, it became my best performing tweet yet.
Whether it’s some sort of magic or people just appreciated the vulnerability of saying “this isn’t my best but I’m showing up anyways,” it worked. It was received well and any fear of “this isn’t perfect, people won’t like it” was totally quashed.
I honored my commitment. I showed up. I got better and I improved. I grew.
This is a reminder, to myself and to each of you, to commit to progress, not perfection.
Progress over perfect.
Thank you for being here.
Here’s what I have for you this week.
Potent Quotables
In this section, I share some of my favorite quotes. They are usually short and sweet but pack a powerful punch.
The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run.
- Henry David Thoreau
Thought-Provoking Finds
In this section, I share things that I’ve read, listened to, or watched throughout the week that I found thought-provoking. These are things either I’ve created or found from others. These are typically blog posts, movies, or podcasts.
Spike Lee’s Movies: Where to Start - In keeping with my theme of “progress over perfect,” I’m sharing this essay on my blog (where I feel there are many improvements to be made). Qualification aside, I started watching Spike's films after the last round of protests broke out over the death of George Floyd. I knew who Spike Lee was but I hadn’t watched his movies. Once I watched one, I wanted to watch them all. He’s got 35 films so that’s a bit of an undertaking but this essay will help guide your journey into his movies. All of them are available on different streaming platforms.
John Lewis: Good Trouble - The civil rights icon passed away last week. I wanted to learn more about his life and work. This documentary details the arc of his career and gives you insight into the man. One thing (out of many) I admire about him: how he maintained a certain lightness while fighting for civil rights. I won’t say much else besides this: watch the film.
Photo of the Week
In this section, I share a photo with a little description of why I find it interesting.
The couple that commissioned this home also commissioned the famous Fallingwater home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. FLW is one of my favorite designers but I discovered another designer with a similar aesthetic. This home by designer Richard Neutra in Palm Springs is lesser-known but widely regarded as one of the best in the country.
A quick note on our book club: we are going to push the discussion back two weeks until Sunday, August 16th at 10AMPST. Please update your calendars. Some of our members just received their copy of the book this week. I want to give them time to catch up and get involved.
That’s it for now.
Be good to each other.
Until next time,
KB