Be Okay with Rough Drafts
Escaping the stagnancy of perfectionism and all the shame it carries
Something really cool happened to me after I wrote this draft yesterday. But it will only make sense at the end, so let’s get into it :)
I remember when I first saw this post circulating on Tumblr (Substack’s mother), and how it resonated with me. It’s cringy to share but I completely understand this sentiment, and I think a good amount of us can.
I recently had a breakthrough in this mentality, and I wanted to share. I’m believing that it’ll bring a great deal of change to my life.
In the past few weeks, I’ve been learning through prayer and conversations with friends, about how perfectionism is just shame and pride, dancing around each other. The idea that we have to add more to what God has told us to do, to make it good and acceptable. To make up for our personal insecurities. To compare it with what we deem good enough.
I’ve been realizing how prideful this is, to believe that in any way, I could make better what God has decided to do through me. With me. Yes, I am a partner, but the truth is that if He has His hands on it, it will thrive in whatever way it’s meant to. Maybe it comes from feeling alone in my hardest working seasons. Maybe it comes from always feeling responsible for outcomes of my life. Maybe it comes from feeling too small for what God wants to do. I think it’s all of these, and then some.
Yesterday, when I was pondering this, I realized this about a popular bible story:
In Judges 6, a man named Gideon is told by God that he is being sent to rescue Israel from the oppressive Midianites. He is then instructed by God to destroy the ungodly altars in his town. Then it says, “but because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.” So, he decides to wait until the nighttime to do this, because he was scared and cowardly. Which is what most people focus on when they read and teach this text.
But guess what?
He still did it.
Yes, it would have been better if he were not afraid.
Yes, it would have been better if he did it during the day for all to see.
But the point is that he got it done. And therefore, God was able to partner with him to further move Israel into freedom.
God desires to partner with people to establish His will (intentions) on Earth. (Note that I said He desires to, not that He needs to. Working with His children is just His desired MO.) Many times, in scripture, we see Him say that searches the earth for someone who will partner with Him. But our shame and insecurity make us procrastinate, lack urgency, and disqualify ourselves. We look at our inability to do things perfectly, and somehow think that more time will help? And this always ends the same way: stagnancy and zero production.
And for what?
I mean who even wins here?
The very fact that He has put something on our heart that is the evidence that we have what it takes to do it. Regardless of how we feel about ourselves or our ability, it’s inside of us. And when we finally let it out, focused on Him and not the results, He will bless it. And the perfection will be of Him, not of us. That’s what makes our partnership with Him so beautiful.
It is truly better to do it afraid. It is truly better to do it when you think it’s not perfect. It’s better that you just do it, and trust God to produce the results.
You grow in excellence eventually, but not all at once. And that is okay. Because only God is perfect.
And of course, I “knew” this. But somewhere in my soul, I spent so much time in my callings trying to meet some standard whose source I can’t even trace. And it only made me stagnant. I have a graveyard full of ideas for projects, that died only because I believed my execution could never match the glory of the idea. (Mind you…the glory was God’s anyway!) I feared that it would be so bad, so I wouldn’t even write a rough draft or a plan.
But I look back and I wish I had been more like Gideon and done them imperfectly. I wish I had not been afraid to be seen trying, learning. For the rough draft to still feel rough, but enough because that’s what I had to give.
The best things I’ve ever done were done when I wasn’t trying to prove something to myself, but when I just wanted to express what was in my heart and mind. Or when I was terrified, but I knew that this was something that God had asked me to do, so it’s bound to work out.
Now, I am resting in God’s perfection and learning to be okay with rough drafts.
Because the sick thing about perfectionism is that nothing will ever be “good enough” anyway. Perfection never rested on me to begin with. That’s God’s arena. It’s on me to do it, just the way I am. He likes it that way.
We get our ideas for a reason. So be okay with rough drafts. Even if you do it scared, like Gideon and like me. Just get it done. And let God get the glory!
The craziest thing is, after I wrote this first draft, I visited a new hairstylist (new look fully loaded!) and she asked to make social media content from our session. I agreed. Then she did the most bizarre thing. She recorded our consultation and posted it immediately. Then she did the same for the wash. Then the same for the cut.
When I say immediately, I mean like immediately. On her feed.
No rewatch. No Edit. Nothing. And I was in awe.
I asked her how she did that, and she spoke these very words I wrote to me. She has many six-figure businesses, books written, and interns. And it’s all because she stopped trying to be perfect and learned that true excellence comes from just being yourself, taking action, and trusting God to establish His will in your work. She said stopping to edit and perfect everything just slowed her down, and her audience appreciates her authenticity above all.
After that, I just knew I had to let this draft fly! After two editing sessions (I have a new three-touch rule), this is what I have, and I hope it blesses someone to just do it and trust God. Watch what happens when you do!
until next time,
jm :)
Great message! And Like that note you wrote to yourself: "a plan violently done is better than a 'perfect plan' done later." It's a struggle to get out of this idea that everything must be perfect before doing what God told us to. This is something I struggle with when it comes to writing. I'm trying to remind myself that even if I don't know the full direction, I can still act now instead of waiting. I would be lying if I said this wasn't hard!
But like you said, doing it scared and just committing ourselves to completion rather perfection is the goal we should reach. Thanks for this reminder and God bless!
i’m sat