Imperfection from a Perfectionist

Before I left the States last fall, I made a promise to several of my friends and family to start a blog about my experiences in the Netherlands. Each time someone asked me to keep them updated, I would mention the blog idea. By making this promise over and over, I was actually providing myself with the incentive I knew I needed to go through with the creation of a blog.

You see, I'm a perfectionist at heart. I hate being wrong or, in the case of writing, careless. I cringe when I reread something I've written and find incorrect word usage, a typo, or a grammatical error. While I've always been a little anxious about having people read what I've written, now that I work (or will return to work) in fields which require correct grammar usage (freelance writing and teaching English composition), I'm even more self conscious about my writing. I worry, "What if a potential client or fellow teacher reads my work and catches one of those pesky typos? Will I somehow lose credibility as writer or a teacher?"

So, when I sat down to first create my blog, I worried about every little detail. Was the title too silly? What about the premise? Did anyone want to read about my time in the Netherlands? Could I publish something that was interesting to anyone but me? Normally, when faced with concerns like this, I wait a while to start a project. Then, when I feel the deadline looming, I put something together out of necessity. However, the task of creating a personal blog didn't come with built in deadlines. I needed some other motivation. Then, I thought back to the promises I made to my friends and family, and I realized I just needed to jump into the blog, or the fear of creating an imperfect product would paralyze me.

Why am I telling you this? Well, with almost 100 posts behind me now, I realize that my blog is far from perfect. Sometimes I end up with typos or string together awkward phrases, unable to come up with the perfect way to describe an experience. I read other blogs in envy (seriously, this is one of my favorites!), wishing my writing style were half as entertaining. And yet, each time I publish an entry, I feel a sense of accomplishment.

Recently I saw a poster on Pinterest, which seems to explain my blogging realization:

Image from Designforfun.com

Sure, I still read back through all most of my entries. Sometimes, I even spend days trying to craft my words into the perfect post, and I'll admit that I have a few entries I started a while back that are still under construction.  However, for the most part, I've tried to let go of my unattainable aspirations of perfection, and instead toss my blog out into the world, flaws and all. If I hadn't adopted this philosophy, it's likely the last 95+ entries would still be only an idea, waiting for the perfect moment (or word) to come along.

So, I guess the take away message here is don't let your fears of imperfection paralyze you. Oh, and if you notice a mistake here or there, feel free to tell me, but also realize that the flaws are all part of the process.