How do we become ‘blog perfect?’ Is this something that we should be aiming for? What does this look like?
One of the challenges I have faced when coming to write posts for my blog is focusing too hard on the finishing line – what I want it to look like in the end. In our introductions through our ‘community guide’ we shared our goals and what we want to achieve. Along with myself, it seems we are nervous to begin because we are perhaps too focused on what the end product will look like to others. I have even thought when looking at colleagues blogs that I wish mine could be as informative, as humorous and interesting.
My blog has to begin somewhere, and I am going to try to view this as developmental and in-progress. Whilst I might be using others’ blogs for inspiration, my first step is to ensure that what I am exploring is relevant and enjoyable for myself and then build upon how this might be used as a tool for others to learn from.
I may not have all my pages sorted, or a full ‘focus’ for what I want to achieve, but should I? How about I write on my blog sporadically when I feel I have something to say? Does it matter if I choose not to blog for 3 months and then another time blog 3 posts in one month! Are there set rules that we should follow? Perhaps having an idea of being ‘blog perfect’ is actually hindering our blogs from being perfect just the way there are.
Hi Sarah
When I try to get to the heart of your piece, I’m reminded of something Seth Godin wrote which runs parallel to your ideas: “Perfect lets you stall, ask more questions, do more reviews, dumb it down, safe it up and generally avoid doing anything that might fail (or anything important).” His full post is here: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2015/06/abandoning-perfection.html
The intent to be perfect leads to paralysis, and I suppose we need to look at where that comes from (especially those of us in schools).
As I continue to develop my own blog, something I really like is the ability to look back a few years to see how my ideas have changed/evolved. I know my philosophy of education will (hopefully) continue to grow and evolve. I guess that means I need to write today for future me?
Thanks again for sharing,
Tricia
Hi Sarah,
I think it’s really good that you are questioning this idea of perfection. From conversations I have had, this is a barrier to many people (Along with the “why would anyone be interested in what I say? argument). It reminds of Nick Alchin’s speech at the graduation for the class of 2017, where he spoke about how perfection can in many ways be our enemy.
In blogging, I think it comes down to two questions that you can ask yourself:
1) What is your purpose for blogging?
2) Who is your intended audience?
What might be your answers to these questions? Perhaps that can help us feel at ease with not having ‘perfect’ blogs and worrying about if people will care about what we write!
Your post really resonated for me Sarah. I think I needed to come to a similar conclusion to yours before I could move forward with my blog. I spent literally 5 hours trying to write my first post and I still look back at it and cringe at how it didn’t say what I wanted to say. In then end I just thought ..oh well .. this will just have to do and pressed publish. The next one was so much easier to write. I wrote in response to an idea I had – I wrote for me, not for anyone else.
I have done some reading on the idea of perfectionism and was interested to read an article in Psychology today that compared adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism.
Adaptive perfectionists strive for success, tend to complete tasks on time, and have high standards for their work. Perfectionism becomes maladaptive when the individual becomes overly concerned with “perfect” performance so that nothing becomes “good enough,” … it may cause an individual to avoid taking on tasks for fear of making an error or not being able to complete it up to their lofty standards.
As a Psychology teacher I am sure you are much better versed in this stuff than me, but I am striving to embrace my adaptive perfectionism and quash my occasionally maladaptive tendencies. The former makes me strong, the latter makes me anxious.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/201502/which-type-perfectionist-are-you
Visualisation, or the creation of images in our minds about what we want to happen, can be a powerful motivating tool, but it can also be a hinderance. What if we never get to where we want to go? What if we come across an obstacle we hadn’t imagined might be there? (I think that you wrote about resilience in your previous blog).
In aiming for perfection in blogging, perhaps you are right in that we focus too hard on what the end product will look like to others, as opposed to what it will look like to us. This links back to the purpose of the blog. What are we hoping to achieve? Why are we blogging? We will all have different answers to this but I think that it is worth considering. Your honesty is heartening and I appreciate your post, especially your final six words “….perfect just the way they are”.
When I was a kid, my mom read to me this story about a princess that was trapped in her castle. There was a rose that she could see from her window. The rose was so beautiful, the colours, the shape, everything was perfect about it.
One day she was able to leave the castle, so the first thing she did was to go and see the rose. At that distance, she was able to see that actually, the rose wasn’t that perfect. from one side the petals where dying, on another side some insects have been eating some of its leaves. The closer she looked, the more imperfections she would find.
She started to cry. It was so disappointing and sad. Nothing looked the way it did from the castle. So, a rabbit (I know, I always found strange the fact that it was a rabbit hahaha) came and told her not to cry. It said: IT IS PERFECT, don’t you see it? She was perplexed, how can you think that? look at it, it has so many flaws.
And then the rabbit said: this is the nature of a rose, the reality of a rose, and in that it is completely perfect.
My mom would then add, that when we change perspectives we also need to recalibrate. We need to be able to adapt and adjust our definitions and that is the hardest part.
Sorry hahaha, but your post reminded me of that story and made me think about the importance of the idea behind it, not only for what you are expressing but for our roles as teachers in general. These past months, I have felt that same concern coming from our students, there is so much perfection emphasis, which might not be entirely negative, but when we do not recalibrate and adjust our definitions, expectations, in other words, have some reality checks here and there, we will find ourselves endlessly failing or with a constant feeling of disappointment or underachievement (Exactly how I have been feeling since August)
Because as you mentioned in your post, in the majority of the cases the focus is on the end and not in the process, the journey. It all comes down to knowing how to break down the definition of “Perfect” and adapt it to the different stages and/or situations.
I wish we could transmit to our kids and remind ourselves, how important and perfect the dying petals are for the whole process of the rose.
BTW, love your blog! I think it is perfect.
Dear Sarah,
So much to unpack here: “we are nervous to begin because we are perhaps too focused on what the end product will look like to others”
1. Nervous to begin – I really think the biggest hindrance to most of my progress is just getting that first step in. Many of the “to-dos” that have sat in the backburner that moan and groan at me in the shadows are hardly ever terrible once I start it off. Surprisingly, they shrink in size but also expand my sense of wonder. So true.
2. Too focused on… the end product – Is that ever the sign of a perfectionist! If it’s not going to end up well, why do it at all?
3. … will look like to others – best life hack ever: “Don’t worry about what others think, they barely think about you at all.”
I just wanted to thank you for this, it has made me reflect on my other to-do things for the classroom and for my own personal development.
Sorry to be commenting too late – I’ve only just now caught up with this class. 🙂
Vanessa