A Peek at the Woman Behind the Curtain

OK, so I admit to being a bit of a perfectionist. And, yes, it sometimes keeps me from starting projects…like writing this post. I felt this first post was an important one because it had to accomplish so many things. It had to introduce me, set the blog’s tone, welcome readers, and give an idea of what kinds of topics I’d chat about. So, how was I supposed to do all that in just a few hundred words? My heart raced and my mind spun, but unfortunately my typing fingers remained very, very still. 

Fortunately, I also have a weakness for self-help books. I figured with all the motivational advice I’d ingested over the years, there had to be something I could call on that would come in handy here. So I went into my mental vault…

Ø      Picture yourself having already accomplished your task.

Ø      Break up your large task into smaller tasks and just do the first little task.

These two pieces of advice seemed to contradict each other, so I threw them both out.

Ø      Talk is cheap.

Ø      Just do something.

These two suggestions should have pushed me into taking action, but the part of me that doesn’t like being told what to do pushed back at this advice that felt like an order...so I did nothing.

Ø      Picture your audience in their underwear.

Ø      Imagine your audience consists of only friends and family.

I know the first suggestion is supposed to make me feel less intimidated, but I don’t really want to imagine you all naked in front of me, whether I know you or not. (Especially if I know you.) The second idea, though, really resonated with me. My friends and family are fairly non-scary people. If they think what I’m doing is good they’ll let me know, and if they think what I’m saying is stupid it won’t be the first time.

Ø      Write about what you know.

Aha! I can certainly do this. After all, who knows me better than me? (Although if that were true, I wouldn’t need all of those self-help books, but that’s fodder for another post.)

So, I’ve made it to the end of this piece without too much anxiety, and now the all-important first post is done. The rest of them can only be easier from here on out, right? Unless I start worrying about the sophomore slump and how my second post might not be as good as the first. So, now you know that not only am I a perfectionist, but I also have issues with being an over-achiever. Ah, well…

I hope you enjoyed what was rolling around in my head today enough to come back and see what might be rolling around in there tomorrow or the day after.