Embracing Good Enough in 2024

Happy New Year! It’s 2024, and a new year for me has always meant making new year’s resolutions. The last few years, I’ve adopted the practice of writing a one year vision. I like to imagine that it is December 2024, and think about all the things that I would be celebrating. I then write a letter to a friend sharing these reflections, and also read that letter aloud to someone.

This exercise has been really useful for me, and given me a lot of insight into my aspirations. This year, a consistent theme emerged, and that was a desire for ease. What would it feel like to achieve all of my goals, but enjoy a much more effortless and fun journey?

One area where I’d love to find more ease is in my writing habits. In the past, I would write a blog post, send it to a friend for editing, and possibly publish it. I would then find myself grappling with self-doubt. What if I accidentally said something embarrassing or offensive? What if I said something inaccurate, and completely discredited myself and my team? That’s a lot of pressure to put on a blog that no one is reading! Especially considering my primary goal was personal growth in writing, not necessarily building a vast readership.

Recently I came across Seth Godin’s blog, where he has diligently posted every day since 1995. His perspective on building a writing habit resonated with me:

There’s no such thing as writer’s block. There’s simply a fear of bad writing. Do enough bad writing and some good writing is bound to show up.

I also loved his philosophy towards blogging:

I don’t post a blog post because I feel like it. I don’t post a blog post because it is perfect. I post a blog post because it is tomorrow. And that idea helps the work move forward.

The idea of publishing a blog post every single day in 2024 seems pretty wild, but I’m excited to experiment with it. I intend to bring this energy of lowering the bar to other areas of my life too. For example, I decided to read five pages a day of “Thinking in Systems” this holiday break, and making that commitment has significantly increased my overall reading.

I’m excited to explore a lighter, more effortless approach to achievement. In December 2024, I look forward to celebrating not only the goals I set out to accomplish, but, more importantly, intentionally lowering my standards, engaging in more experiments, and embracing the beauty of simply being good enough.