Well, well, well – look who’s back and keeping her word.

It’s me (for now).

You know what keeps me away (and awake at night)?

Perfectionism.

I have a friend who likes to remind himself, and me when we talk, “Done is better than perfect.”

And he’s right. He is absolutely right.

Even though I know this, there is a never disappearing seed of doubt that rears its ugly head whenever I mentally picture myself sitting down and letting my thoughts run.

What if you’re not good enough? What if you make a mistake and embarrass yourself? What if you waste your time because the outcome doesn’t meet your expectations? 

It’s the useless alert that pops up when I want to step out of my comfort zone.

Or when I want to start a new project.

Or when I want to be creative.

Or when I want to put myself out there and take a risk.

All it takes is the little whisper of doubt that stops me dead in my tracks and instantly dims the spark before it spins out of control and I actually do something.

I wish I had some great life lesson or insta hack that I have found to solve this problem, but so far it’s still an everyday battle. 

However, it is a war I want to win. It’s the battles I did win where I look back and I’m proud of myself. The outcomes of those battles that I look back on in three years and think, “Wait, this was actually good.”

I’m almost always glad that I did it (even if maybe I don’t ever want to do it again… sometimes once is enough).

But you don’t know until you try, fail (or succeed), and learn. 

The best part about being in the software space is I get to exercise that muscle everyday. 

Development is all about trial and error. You have to be able to move forward and push through mistakes that you make, even if you don’t feel like it. 

In this space, criticism and feedback are fuel for growth. In fact, they are 100% necessary. 

You aren’t building something for yourself. If you want to create something that will actually be used, you have to listen and then implement. 

Pride has to take the back seat. Humility is the grease that keeps the gears turning.

That principal doesn’t apply to just software development – it applies for all of life. 

So, as I wage my war, this post will be permanently sealed away in the foreverness that is the internet as my reminder to keep fighting the daily battles.

And hopefully, it’s validating for anyone else fighting the daily pop-up reminders too.

Until next time!