Is Perfectionism Holding You Back? It's Time to Break Free!

In 1998, a neuroscientist named Christof Koch and a philosopher named David Chalmers made a 25-year bet that the mechanism by which the brain produces consciousness would be discovered by 2023. Koch was reluctant to admit defeat. And I’m reluctant to accept that 1998 was 25-years ago.

In today’s newsletter:

• Perfectionism: How does perfectionism play a role in your podcast?

• Perplexity: Summarize any page or domain you want.

• Promotion: Libsyn announces a new CEO, A.I. generated music is becoming a thing, Spotify updates their desktop app, and more.

DYLAN’S DOWNLOAD

Are you, like me, guilty of a bit of perfectionism when it comes to content creation and online business?

Some symptoms of perfectionism include:

• Spending significantly more time on a piece of content than necessary.

• Struggling to press the publish button.

• Feeling overwhelmed by all the details that seem important, but ultimately don't matter in the long run.

Perfectionism kept me from starting something like Digital Podcaster for 8 years.

I had a project that came to an end in 2013.

Due to the high standards I set for myself, I ended up primarily working on other people's projects.

It's much easier to let go of someone else's creation than it is of your own.

Perfectionism kept me safe from criticism, and I was able to avoid any possibility of failure by simply not starting anything. However, I wasn’t growing in the direction I had desired, and my dreams were gradually slipping away.

The difference between starting Digital Podcaster and all the other projects that fizzled out was that this time, I created a system to help me focus on what was important.

I had a clear north star, a plan, and I took action each week.

This time, my perfectionism became my ally rather than my enemy.

I wasn't striving for an unattainable level of perfection, but rather, I was systemizing the parts that needed to get done, and allowing myself to make mistakes.

In fact, the mistakes didn't even matter (the typos, the wrong color choices, the imperfect logo, etc.).

My perfectionism kept the energy for the project high, because it helped me care about what I was doing.

What worked for me was less abstract and more tangible.

I needed to understand:

• The specific actions I needed to take each day.

• What inspired me at the end of the day.

• What was working for me to achieve my goals.

By creating a system and focusing on the actions that mattered, I was able to launch Digital Podcaster without being held back by the fear of failure.

I'm still far from perfect, but I've learned to accept that and not let it hold me back.

Now I'm able to take fast action, and there's no worry of pausing for fear of making a mistake, which could derail the whole process.

The biggest takeaway for me is that perfectionism can be both a helpful tool and a hindrance.

When I view it as something to strive for, it helps me stay focused on my goals and motivates me to take action.

But when I'm too hard on myself and focus solely on the details, it can become a recipe for self-sabotage.

So, I encourage you to use perfectionism as a helpful tool, but also remember to give yourself permission to make mistakes along the way.

CREATOR ANTICS