So first of all let me say, Hello.
Some time ago (probably a very long time ago) you opted to sign up for my newsletter where I promised to deliver regular insights and advice, documenting my process of becoming a content creator in my 40’s.
Well, I guess I failed.
You see, despite my best intentions I ended up in a place that you might be familiar with — stuck in my own head, thinking endlessly about content ideas but struggling to ever finish anything.
It can feel like a curse. Like you have a million great ideas, you can imagine a world where you pour your heart and soul into your content every week and share it with the world. But you’re stuck in dark room and can’t open the door.
If only you could find the key and unlock the door, open the floodgates, let the content flow. But what’s stopping you?
For me the answer is simple, I overthink absolutely everything.
I start with a thought, a concept or a feeling. Pretty soon I’ve distilled that into an idea but before I can take action and create the content the gremlins in my head start ripping it to shreds. I start seeking out similar content from other creators and fall into the comparison trap, which leads to perfectionism which leads to self doubt.
Overthinking is destroying my dreams — I can see that now. My cadence on YouTube is terrible, my newsletter never got going, my short form plans are going nowhere. I have a clear vision in my head of where I want to be in a year, how I want to grow as a creator and the life I want to build, but overthinking is the nemesis I know I need to defeat to achieve that.
Sound familiar? God I hope so. I can’t be the only one.
So here’s a few things I’m now trying to going to do going forward to try and get myself unstuck. None of these things on their own are going to be a magic bullet. Change takes time and effort, but small steps can lead to big leaps, so here’s my new thought process;
Done is better than perfect.
Once you have an idea, it’s ready. It doesn’t need to be filtered down, dissected and perfected in your head, it needs to escape! Thinking of every video, post or newsletter article as a masterpiece will create a a beautiful gallery of content, in your head!
Stop comparing
Comparison completely kills creativity. I’m so guilty of consuming to try and feed my creative process, it doesn’t work. All you end up doing is watching content that you envy from creators who are ahead of you in the journey. It feeds directly into imposter syndrome and breeds self-doubt.
Start messy
When you consume other peoples content, it looks so easy and the gap feels so huge. It can be overwhelming to see the beautifully polished videos, masterful storytelling and elegant wordplay and make you think you could never compete.
But guess what? They weren’t always that good. Content creation is a journey, and like any journey it has a beginning. Every time you release a piece of content you are edging further forward, increasing your skills and building your audience.
Do you want to be someone who dreams of being a creator? Or do you want to be a creator? If it’s the latter then start today, start messy, just start.
For me that means one thing today — start this newsletter!
If this resonates with you then maybe check out my latest YouTube video
How to Overcome Self-Doubt and Just Start Posting
Until the next time!