Honestly, who am I to judge you? I’ve been stuck in this strange creative limbo for almost eight years. And to be fair, I’m still not entirely sure what I’m supposed to be writing or if I should even be writing at all. It's crazy right? Oh yes, it can be. Especially when you consider that I’ve written for several brands, built out full-blown content calendars, and executed strategies that helped others get results. Yet, here I am, still figuring out how to hit “publish” for myself. It’s ironic! It's like being a chef who never eats their own cooking. How can they know what it feels like? I Used to Write All the Time I Used to Write All the Time Once upon a time, I had a blog. It wasn’t fancy. No SEO strategy. No brand voice guides. No “content pillars.” Just me, a keyboard, and whatever thoughts were crashing around in my head. I wrote about everything and anything that my thoughts could capture. It was my corner of the internet. It was unfiltered, raw, and fully mine. I never overthought what I posted. There were no metrics, no audience persona to cater to, no brand colours. Just expressions of life. And somehow, by doing that consistently, I picked up skills I now monetize; content strategy, copywriting, storytelling, and digital branding. It all started from those freewheeling blog posts. content strategy, copywriting, storytelling, and digital branding. So what happened? When Creativity Met Pressure When Creativity Met Pressure I got better. And strangely, that’s when things got harder. See, when you start to understand the mechanics behind what you do, you also start to see how much could go wrong. You become more aware. Of mistakes. Of judgment. Of what’s “professional.” Of who’s watching. Of what I could have done better. And so you freeze. It’s not that I didn’t want to write. I just didn’t want to mess it up. Somewhere along the line, I started treating personal projects like client work. I felt they had to be hyper-polished, strategic, and overthought. I imagined that every idea had to be “good enough” to match this invisible standard created by my so-called successful creators. So instead of moving forward, I stalled. Is It Laziness or Fear? Is It Laziness or Fear? There’s a popular narrative that if you’re not executing, you’re lazy. But I’d argue that fear wears laziness like a hoodie. It’s cozy. It’s familiar. And it lets you avoid the uncomfortable truth: that you're scared of putting something out there and realizing it's not as perfect as you wanted it to be. The fear shows up quietly, but powerfully: “What if it’s not good enough?”
“What if no one reads it?”
“What if everyone does?” “What if it’s not good enough?” “What if it’s not good enough?” “What if no one reads it?” “What if no one reads it?” “What if everyone does?” “What if everyone does?” And while you’re busy waiting for the “perfect” version of your work to show up, time keeps moving, and your ideas stay in the drafts folder. Remember that every idea you don’t allow to thrive is a smothered perspective. Perfection Is a Moving Goalpost Perfection Is a Moving Goalpost Here’s something I’ve come to accept (slowly, painfully): the perfect moment doesn’t exist. And even if it did, you'd only recognize it in hindsight. The work you admire today from other creators likely started out rough too. The difference is that they pushed through the awkward early stages. They published the cringy stuff. They allowed themselves to be seen before they felt ready. before They didn’t wait for perfection. They just showed up, and they did that consistently. Your Standards Might Be Holding You Back Your Standards Might Be Holding You Back There’s this silent pressure to perform at the same level as the polished professionals we admire. But we forget: this is our game. Not theirs. our There’s no one-size-fits-all creative standard. No content police waiting to slap your wrist for an imperfect post. You define the rules. You execute the task. It took me a while to realise that I wasn’t trying to hit a universal standard. I was trying to hit a version of myself that existed only in theory. And that pressure was paralysing. So, What Now? So, What Now? I don’t have a 5-step productivity hack. I’m still figuring this out myself. But I do know this: I am going to publish something today, even if it’s not perfect. I know that it is better than holding onto nothing.
Fear doesn’t go away. You just learn to walk and be bold in spite of it.
I have a personal voice, and that matters. Even if only 10 people hear it. I am going to publish something today, even if it’s not perfect. I know that it is better than holding onto nothing. Fear doesn’t go away. You just learn to walk and be bold in spite of it. I have a personal voice, and that matters. Even if only 10 people hear it. So if you’re like me, sitting on ideas, waiting for “the right time”, maybe this is your sign. Maybe you’re not lazy. Maybe you’re just scared. And maybe, just maybe, it's time to start anyway.

Portfolio

Hire Me

Book a Call

You’re Not Lazy! Well, Maybe You Are…

About Author

Comments

TOPICS

THIS ARTICLE WAS FEATURED IN

Related Stories

5 Steps To Develop Your Brand Marketing Strategy

6 Strategies to Help You Narrow Down Your Brand Positioning

7 Tips For Implementing Online Reputation Management Strategy

Ups & Downs of Running A B2B SaaS LinkedIn Page: What To Do/What Not To Do

Brand Marketing for The Perfect Emotional Connection in B2B

Brand Strategy for a Web3 Startup - Raise Your Value and Visibility in the Web3 Space

5 Steps To Develop Your Brand Marketing Strategy

6 Strategies to Help You Narrow Down Your Brand Positioning

7 Tips For Implementing Online Reputation Management Strategy

Ups & Downs of Running A B2B SaaS LinkedIn Page: What To Do/What Not To Do

Brand Marketing for The Perfect Emotional Connection in B2B

Brand Strategy for a Web3 Startup - Raise Your Value and Visibility in the Web3 Space

Light-Mode

Classic

Newspaper

Minty

Dark-Mode

Neon Noir

Minty

HN StartUps