This is EXACTLY what I’ve been struggling with since starting my business and probably part of why I have pivoted way too often. Reality didn’t hold up to the perfect idea in my head which made me doubt the idea and switch to a different one. A friend recently called me out on that; he said, you seem to freak out every time things get too concrete and then reject everything and start over. This led me to change my whole approach and share my business decisions in public (so that I have to justify them and can’t keep doing this). I’ve finally managed to go deep into the details and even sign a client for that offer and start working with them. It’s not as glamorous as it was in my head but it’s becoming slightly easier to deal with that and there’s also some fun and beauty in the details that I wouldn’t have found otherwise. Thanks for writing this, Jay!
I love that, 'action absorbs anxiety'. It reminds me of this wonderful piece from Henry David Thoreau:
“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings.”
I've been a fan of yours for awhile and follow you on social media. (Chenell Basilio was the one who first told me about you.) I'm really glad to see you writing on here! I think you'll find this community is a supportive one. I always enjoy when creators carve out a little space to write for themselves, freed from the pressures of their day-to-day business obligations.
The topic you wrote about here definitely resonates with me. I am slowly but surely pulling myself out of the "I'm such an idiot!" trough.
Welcome to Substack Jay! I found you a while ago and love your perspective.
PS I joined here a month or two ago with an email list of tens of thousands and it felt confronting to be ‘starting again’ — had all the feels you did!
I leave every shitty first draft for a week, then come back, clean up and publish. It feels like I’m starting again, and learning so much.
It's so daunting to start from zero! Which is also part of the reason that I want to do it – it's easy to lose touch with the creators just starting out and forget that feeling. Good to be back in the trenches with you!
Thanks for sharing your experience and perspective on this. Glad to hear that I’m not the only one who gets stuck trying to create the perfect version of something.
I just rebooted my Substack publication after a long period of inactivity (aka, inaction). I published weekly for seven months until the Substack Nazi vs free speech drama caused me to pause and question the platform.
That pause was enough time for doubt and distraction to creep in. It lasted over a year. Then I finally decided my publication needed to be a space for my creative exploration and expression.
I agree with you. More we push hard focusing on an idea easier it becomes. I call these daily habits. It is a good idea to treat our daily showing up and working on idea a HABIT. However, creator demands trust and your content is focused on forming unwavering trust. Doesn't this fall under creator motivation category? I don't know how this can be something real distinct. Keep posting more motivational stuff
I'm excited to see this new side of your writing Jay! Appreciate you sharing this. I'm curious: were you able to approach the Lab with these feelings? Or did the fact that you were in charge of the community stop you from sharing these feelings?
I've been thinking a lot about how much information to share as someone in charge. I think full transparency is great, but there's also a level of how much people need to know, how much they'll actually care about, and what the second and third order consequences of how information spreads that come into play.
So I guess, how much support do you request from your community vs how much support you offer your community?
Yeah, transparency is definitely a spectrum, not a binary state. I'm more transparent than most, but I'm still not 100% transparent.
That said, The Lab is the more supportive online space I'm a part of. I share a behind the scenes retro every month describing my wins, losses, and the changes I'm making. I've been talking about the Substack (and a book project) there for months. People are very supportive!
We avoid revisiting creative work fearing cringe, but Jay’s rediscovery proves our past struggles often contain our most authentic and valuable content
This is EXACTLY what I’ve been struggling with since starting my business and probably part of why I have pivoted way too often. Reality didn’t hold up to the perfect idea in my head which made me doubt the idea and switch to a different one. A friend recently called me out on that; he said, you seem to freak out every time things get too concrete and then reject everything and start over. This led me to change my whole approach and share my business decisions in public (so that I have to justify them and can’t keep doing this). I’ve finally managed to go deep into the details and even sign a client for that offer and start working with them. It’s not as glamorous as it was in my head but it’s becoming slightly easier to deal with that and there’s also some fun and beauty in the details that I wouldn’t have found otherwise. Thanks for writing this, Jay!
Sounds like you're getting more data, and that's exactly what you need!!
I love that, 'action absorbs anxiety'. It reminds me of this wonderful piece from Henry David Thoreau:
“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings.”
Wow. Your words hit home in a big way. It’s like you’re reading my mind, my struggles. But because of that, I no longer feel alone. ❤️
🙏 ❤️
Well said Jay. Keep up this line of thinking!
For someone who believed he wasn’t creative, you’re a fantastic writer. Keep at it, and you might even have to start calling yourself “a creative.” 🙂
thank you!!
Hi Jay,
I've been a fan of yours for awhile and follow you on social media. (Chenell Basilio was the one who first told me about you.) I'm really glad to see you writing on here! I think you'll find this community is a supportive one. I always enjoy when creators carve out a little space to write for themselves, freed from the pressures of their day-to-day business obligations.
The topic you wrote about here definitely resonates with me. I am slowly but surely pulling myself out of the "I'm such an idiot!" trough.
Here he is! Congrats on issue #1. Glad to be here for it.
Big fan of the pod mate. Cheers!
thanks for the the early support here Pat!
Thanks for sharing Jay! I’m facing this exact problem right now. The what ifs of what to write about, how good I’ll be, and all that comes with that.
It's tough! Sometimes things out of your control make it even worse. Minutes after publishing this, Substack went down for like 30 minutes 😂
Damn Substack was really playing with your emotions there 😂
Welcome to Substack Jay! I found you a while ago and love your perspective.
PS I joined here a month or two ago with an email list of tens of thousands and it felt confronting to be ‘starting again’ — had all the feels you did!
I leave every shitty first draft for a week, then come back, clean up and publish. It feels like I’m starting again, and learning so much.
Looking forward to your posts :)
It's so daunting to start from zero! Which is also part of the reason that I want to do it – it's easy to lose touch with the creators just starting out and forget that feeling. Good to be back in the trenches with you!
Thanks for sharing your experience and perspective on this. Glad to hear that I’m not the only one who gets stuck trying to create the perfect version of something.
I just rebooted my Substack publication after a long period of inactivity (aka, inaction). I published weekly for seven months until the Substack Nazi vs free speech drama caused me to pause and question the platform.
That pause was enough time for doubt and distraction to creep in. It lasted over a year. Then I finally decided my publication needed to be a space for my creative exploration and expression.
Welcome back, Bud!
I agree with you. More we push hard focusing on an idea easier it becomes. I call these daily habits. It is a good idea to treat our daily showing up and working on idea a HABIT. However, creator demands trust and your content is focused on forming unwavering trust. Doesn't this fall under creator motivation category? I don't know how this can be something real distinct. Keep posting more motivational stuff
I'm excited to see this new side of your writing Jay! Appreciate you sharing this. I'm curious: were you able to approach the Lab with these feelings? Or did the fact that you were in charge of the community stop you from sharing these feelings?
I've been thinking a lot about how much information to share as someone in charge. I think full transparency is great, but there's also a level of how much people need to know, how much they'll actually care about, and what the second and third order consequences of how information spreads that come into play.
So I guess, how much support do you request from your community vs how much support you offer your community?
Did you give them a chance to help you?
Yeah, transparency is definitely a spectrum, not a binary state. I'm more transparent than most, but I'm still not 100% transparent.
That said, The Lab is the more supportive online space I'm a part of. I share a behind the scenes retro every month describing my wins, losses, and the changes I'm making. I've been talking about the Substack (and a book project) there for months. People are very supportive!
We avoid revisiting creative work fearing cringe, but Jay’s rediscovery proves our past struggles often contain our most authentic and valuable content
Well just read my mail with this one why don’t ya.
yep, finding myself guilty here as well - and absolutely agree, action kills anxiety!
I can say with confidence that I’m excited to follow the journey here! Glad to see you’ve found a useful, reflective, creative outlet here.