Seth Godin’s fear of shipping I

The Seth Godin’s fear of shipping II post is the original and much longer version of this post.

… thinking that everything you produce is going to be a big hit? That’s a mistake. Obsessing over every little detail? That’ll slow you down. Worried that it won’t be good enough? That’ll stop you entirely.

I know the feeling, though. It’s probably the number one reason I don’t write more on my blog. I worry that it won’t be good enough. I worry that others will judge me poorly for what I create.

Seth Godin calls it the fear of shipping. But, the thing is, we can’t stop ourselves from shipping, from creating content. It needs to be done.

When I read the Seth Godin reference in Andy McIlwain’s
Content Creator’s
Toolbox page, I said to myself “Wow, that’s me.”

I looked at the variety of things I’d written in the last few
weeks and realized for the umpteenth time that it was a treasure trove and that
I must resume publishing in earnest.

I can’t imagine a quotation or precept more applicable to me
than that.

I’m chagrined.

On the other hand, I recognize and derive great
solace from the fact that this is endemic to all creative activity. In short,
everyone fears ridicule, disappointment and criticism. “Shipping” is an
invitation to all three.

Moreover, where the deadline is arbitrary, the fear is
compounded.

The best way to overcome it is …. well, there isn’t a way.
It’s a condition and overcoming it today has no real likelihood of reducing it’s
incidence tomorrow. The only thing that can be accomplished is to blunt its impact
through repetition. Shipping leads to more shipping which leads to more shipping
and so on. You see what I mean.