Article Marketing Tips: Is Perfectionism Killing Your Writing?

Being a perfectionist can sound like a good thing at surface level. I've heard that people who are perfectionists are more productive than those who aren't. Maybe that's true, but when taken too far things can swing in the other direction and actually make you unable to get things done.

The term "perfectionist paralysis" applies to situations when a person is so fixated on doing something perfectly that he or she is afraid to take a step forward, lest it not be perfect. The quest for perfection actually can bring on writer's block.

I've seen all sorts of articles giving tricks for how to overcome writer's block, but I thought it might be helpful to go right to the source and give tips for overcoming perfectionism instead.

If you're a perfectionist and you're having a hard time getting some momentum going with your article submissions, hopefully the tips in this article can help. Here are some tips for breaking free of the drive to be perfect:

1 - Give yourself permission to fail.

I have a friend who has a daughter who has the perfectionist tendencies. She has made A's in school her entire life, and as the daughter is approaching college age, the mother became concerned that the pressure to maintain perfection was weighing too heavily on the girl. To help her break free of that pressure, she suggested to her daughter that she purposely get less than an "A" on one of her papers.

The grading scale was "A" (superior), "B" (above average), "C" (average), "D"(below average) , and "F" (fail). The mother told her daughter that whatever grade she received they would have a party to celebrate where all of the foods they ate would begin with the letter of her grade. This lightheartedness helped the daughter to realize that getting less than an "A" was not the end of the world--it was okay not to be perfect.

With your articles, it's great to have high aspirations, but why not do an experiment where you take your expectations down a few notches. Most likely, your articles will still be acceptable and they will still be high quality, even if they aren't absolutely perfect. To write a "pretty good" article is better than not writing any article at all.

2 - Speak kindly to yourself.

Sometimes we say things to ourselves (in our heads), and we don't even realize it. Watch how you talk to yourself and instead of pronouncing a harsh judgement on yourself, come up with a more constructive, gentle thing to say.

For example, you can say, "I'd like to make a title that is more attention grabbing."

Avoid saying things like, "Everything I write is awful! I'm just not good at this."

3 - Focus on the process, not just the end result.

One thing that makes it hard for perfectionists is that they set very high standards for themselves, and they expect themselves to instantly reach those standards, rather than going through the long process of gaining knowledge and developing skills.

Writing is a skill that develops over time. If you see someone whose articles you admire, remember that it likely took them years of work to be able to write like that. As you're learning to write, you will get better little by little. We'd all love to be instant experts, but unfortunately it takes time.

As a way to overcome the pressure to reach that pinnacle of success too quickly, try focusing on the journey rather than the destination. You can do this in all areas of your life--are you taking a trip somewhere? Focus on enjoying all aspects of the trip and not just the final destination.

With writing, decide to enjoy all stages of the writing process, even the parts when your article is looking unimpressive. There are certain times in the writing process when your article will look downright awful. That's okay. That's the way things usually work. At the end, you'll be able to proofread and make things as perfect as you like, but don't let your desire for perfection stop you before you even get started.

Steve Shaw is a content syndication specialist. Do you own a blog? Need content? Join thousands of other blogs and get free high-quality, niche-focused, human-reviewed content from quality authors sent on auto-pilot - and it's all 100% free! Get free blog posts now.

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