Baby steps are still steps, baby.

Good morning gorgeous. It's so lovely to see you on this muggy summer morning!

Recently I found an interview with Elizabeth Gilbert on life and love, and in it, she's asked about perfectionism. She says we need to get clear on what perfectionism really is before we can combat it:

A lot of perfectionists actually secretly think it's a virtue. The trick is to expose it, to pull off its fake mask and to call it by its real name, which is fear. Fear that you're not good enough, fear that you're not worthy, fear that you're going to revealed, uncovered, exposed. Perfectionism is just fear in high heels and a mink coat trying to be fancy.

A lot of books go unwritten, companies not-started, and art uncreated, because we tell ourselves it has to be perfect. We need more money, a lucky break, 6 months off work, to create it. But those conditions never magically arrive— because, of course they don't. We tell ourselves that it has to be perfect before we can show it to anyone. Perfect is our security blanket, it gives us a way out the vulnerability demanded by public creation. So our work stays in the dark, where no one can see it, where no one can judge it, where no one can connect to it, where no one can be helped by it.

Here's the thing though, friends:

If we choose comfort over fear, we will never create.
If we let the judgement of others determine our path, we will remain stagnant.
If we wait for it to be perfect, it will never exist.

Our art is a reflection of our humanity, and our humanity is messy and imperfect. So in the beginning, our early art, our companies, our ideas, our writing will be messy and imperfect— and that's OK. It still needs to exist.

If you have something you want to create, take the first small step today and write it down without crossing it out. Baby steps are still steps, baby.