HI! I realized that I have been very incapable of writing anything without the initial thought that I will put my thoughts into words immediately and that I will only need to edit it once. It's starting to make me very unhappy with my writing when it's not immediately perfect. Anyone else experience this? I hate that I need my writing to be perfect and I wish I could just write and make edits to it without feeling like my writing is bad. I've been trying to put bits and pieces of thoughts I have in a document so that I have phrases to use in pieces but I don't know if that's helping. Need some advice on how to overcome this!!!
#Perfectionist
upbeat willow
cursive rover
HI! I realized that I have been very incapable of writing anything without the i...
I know how that feels and I pretty much do the same as well. It's exhausting and makes you feel as if you're incapable of writing unless it's perfect or near perfect first time.
What I do the most is brute forcing my way through it; every time those thoughts come up, I grit my teeth and push through. I use a multitude of ways to help me through the process. A personal mantra sounds weird at first, but it really does help to say a repeated phrase out loud over and over every time it happens. Another way you could tackle it would be to take a short break to do breathing exercises, muscle contraction and relaxation, meditation, etc. From personal experiences and talking to other people, perfectionism usually stems from the feeling of fear and dread that others will harshly judge and disapprove your work, creating a buildup of anxiety. I personally found that tackling that anxiety first is an important step in tackling the perfectionist mindset.
Another way would be to dig deep and find where the perfectionism stems from, whether it's from early life experiences or underlying mental illnesses. For me, I grew up with unrealistically high expectations from my family, and was also bullied a lot growing up, so I seldom share my work unless I feel like I have edited to Hell and back. If you have time, I think sitting down and sorting out your thoughts, either alone or with a person you trust— or even better, with a therapist— could be a much needed asset, as being mindful of your thoughts allows you to understand yourself better.
It can be grueling constantly fighting toe to toe with your mind, and I hope you're able to find some respite soon!
simple palm
I'm glad there are people like me