Second guessing: stop it (before it stops you)

[Unless it's second guessing about cake...]

Sometimes I write a newsletter I’m really proud of: I’m pleased with the content, and confident it will help people.
 
And I might get zero response to those newsletters!

(And that’s okay :)
 
Other times, I write something I’m not sure will land with people.
 
It’s written from the heart, but I’m not sure the content is “grabby”.
 
Definitely not award-winning :)
 
Yet many times I’ve gotten a reply back to those emails to say thank you, or a blog comment to say how helpful it was.

The takeaway...
 
My point is that you can never fully predict how your work is going to be received.
 
So let’s stop it!
 
Stop second guessing.
 
It doesn’t help, and we can waste a lot of energy on it.
 
Just do the work, and see what happens.
 
You might get zero response.
 
But you might get a wonderful surprise.
 
It’s not for us to predict the outcome.
 
It’s for us to put the work in, and enjoy the process ;)

Here's why...
 
So often, when I second guess what someone will do or say, I end up being wildly wrong!
 
Humans can be quite unpredictable ;)
 
And we tend to look at life through the lens of our own experiences, personality, and beliefs.
 
Which could be very different from someone else’s.
 
So hit ‘pause’ on the second guessing.
 
Don’t worry about how your work will be received, or whether people will like it.
 
Just do the best you can, and let your readers, or consumers, or network receive it however they want to.
 
If you get a good response... awesome!
 
And if you don’t: learn from it.

Here's the thing...
 
I can’t predict what you’re going through right now, or what will help you.
 
I can only write about the things I’m going through, and hope that it inspires or comforts you as well.
 
Second guessing doesn’t get us anywhere.
 
So just ask.
 
Produce.
 
Paint, write, or create.
 
Have the courage to produce, without being (solely) focused on the results.
 
And I bet the results will be better than you think ;)
 
Here’s to us!
 
Claire

❤