Just checking in, how is your 2021 going so far? Two months down, another ten to go. I don’t know about you but those resolutions that I set for myself at the beginning of the year…are not going exactly as planned. And you know what, that’s okay! Who said we had to be perfect the first time around? 

The pressure that comes with feeling like you need to achieve success on the first try is stressful at its best and debilitating at its worst. As I got back into the groove of law school, writing, and an exciting side project, it was difficult to not stress out about everything that I needed to do and everything I wasn’t getting done. My inner critic was thriving on my anxieties, making everything feel much more intimidating than it actually is. And then you feel bad about not completing what you’re supposed to get done, you chastise yourself about it, and then you just dwell on your own feelings of inadequacy.

No? Is this just me?

The question I want to ask you is, “Is it worth trying to do something even though you know you won’t get it right?”

Is it worth continuing to try to start working out in the morning even though you couldn’t bring yourself to get out of bed yesterday? Is it worth trying to write something even though the words you’re putting on the page just don’t seem right?

I’d say it is.

I’ve definitely been struggling to sit down and write because it feels like whatever I do, it won’t be good enough with the time that I have. The timing isn’t right. I can’t give proper attention to this story, this character, this moment in a way that I want to with what I have. It’s not going to be perfect the first time around so why should I waste time to do something I’m going to have to do again anyway?

I’ve realized that there’s really no such thing as a waste of time, even when you’re not being “productive.” Everything that you do, is building on something. Sure, you didn’t get out of bed early enough to work out today, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try again tomorrow, or even better, try to find fifteen minutes in the day to stretch a little bit, take a walk, just do something that makes you feel like you’ve achieved the goal you set out for yourself.

Write for ten minutes if you can’t find time to write for thirty. Write one page instead of ten. Even if you end up deleting 200 words instead of writing anything new, you still built your progress because now you know what you don’t need.

Even if it isn’t perfect, it’s still worth doing.

-RP