Perfectionist

Sometimes I have some perfectionist tendencies. I learned from my father at an early age that if you don't think you can do something correctly you should make a big fuss and delay starting the project as long as possible.

I have always wanted to write a novel. I have a million and one ideas in my head, and I don't have any problem starting to write my ideas. The problem comes when I reach a certain point (anywhere from 5 pages to 35 pages into the piece) where I suddenly feel like everything I have written is horrible. In all honesty, it probably is. But that doesn't mean that it's not salvageable.

What is it about perfectionists that we can't keep working once we find out the tiniest of problems. I read novels everyday that I pick up in the library that are simply atrocious. Horrible grammer, faulty plot lines, confusing characters. And they not only completed their work, they actually managed to get it published!

I'm not saying we should all give in to mediocrity. I think we should do the best work that we are capable of. However, we all need to complete something. We need to finish it. We need to take an entire step and not hover in place.

It's not the end result of the race that matters; it's the fact that we are running the race.

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