Permission To Start

Navigating doubt and embracing imperfection on your creative path.

I’m Reid! I write about my life experiences and how we can all live in brave new ways. Dare You is a reader-supported publication. To receive weekly posts and support my work, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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On Sunday, I was sitting at brunch with my friend Anna. Our conversation had already consisted of a myriad of topics and had taken a turn into the land of creativity and the courage it takes to start new things. For a while now, I have been contemplating starting yet another creative venture… one that will require me to be seen on a whole other level, and I have finally cultivated the courage to get the ball rolling and launch next month. Yet still, I have this pit in my stomach that my creation might suck.

“Have you heard the Ira Glass quote” Anna asked…

I took a bite of my brussel sprouts and replied,

“No, let’s hear it.”

Anna, being an artist of many colors herself, has a lot of experience with self-creation and putting her work out into the world. Whatever quote or magic spell that works for her would surely work for me. She whipped out her phone and began to recite a quote which went like this…..

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

― Ira Glass

“Ugh that’s soooo goooood!” I moaned.

I let out a sigh of relief. Ira is right. Knowing that the great Ira Glass also went through times where his work sucked feels oddly comforting. Sometimes people pop up out of nowhere so polished and seemingly perfect that we convince ourselves it isn’t worth even trying because there is just no way we can be as perfect as the last person who attempted what we feel called to do. But in reality, the seemingly perfect person most likely spent years of dedication in honing their craft that went unnoticed. And if the perfect person IS in fact perfect from the start… well, that journey isn’t that inspiring nor does their story have anything we can learn from. What IS admirable is the person who had the courage to try something new, kept going despite their work being crap, and never gave up until their work aligned with their taste.

When starting out on a new endeavor, whether it be creative, entrepreneurial, or anything that will challenge your limits, starting is the hardest part. Giving ourselves permission to start is the first and sometimes scariest step. And sometimes by giving ourselves permission to start, we are also giving ourselves permission to suck… in the beginning at least. We must be willing to risk feeling embarrassed and judged by strangers and even loved ones. Remember that those who judge are most likely jealous that you had the guts to start in the first place and are disappointed in their own inability to share their creation. After we give ourselves permission to start, it can be tempting to spend a bit too much time “plotting and planning” which is actually just stalling. Yes, it is important to plan accordingly so you feel prepared, but make sure you don’t wait too long to start because you might lose steam and jeopordize your ability to actually begin.

Once you have begun your new endeavor, the next step is to stay consistent and not be discouraged when every piece of your work does not receive the exact response you’d hoped for. Set the bar for your own work and judge your progress by if YOU enjoy what you are creating. Focus on your output and do what Ira says…. “The most important thing you can do is do a lot of work.” Do a lot of work and try new things. Experiment! Push your limits! A good way to stay consistent is to also “Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story.” When I started writing this Substack I made the commitment to post every Tuesday. If I had not made that commitment, I would have surely quit a long time ago. Something about creating deadlines and keeping those commitments builds confidence and strength to keep creating.

After you have become consistent and your new endeavor has become the new normal, now you must keep creating, reinventing, and expanding. Finding ways to grow and stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone becomes the high you chase, and the voice of fear of failure becomes quieter with every step you take. It might take years, perhaps even decades, but eventually… you just might close the gap between your taste and talent.

How many ideas have you had over the course of your life that lit you up with excitement, yet you found a way to talk yourself out of actually doing it? How many times have you felt called to take a risk but never tried out of fear of failure or being laughed at? What if, from here on out, every time you had an idea of something you’d like to create or pursue, you put the wheels in motion and just started?

Don’t let the fear of being a beginner keep you from trying and putting yourself out there. Be comfortable with and embrace the gap between your taste and full potential. Embrace the gap by taking risks and be okay with things not working. Push yourself; risk looking like a fool.

Here is your permission to start.

-Reid