You already know what perfectionism is.
You’ve helped clients see how it makes starting feel harder, how it convinces them they need to be ready first, how it promises safety but quietly keeps them stuck.
I knew all of that, too.
And yet, when I first started writing blogs, none of it seemed to apply to me. Instead, I found myself thinking: this isn’t very good, other people do this better, I should know how to do this properly.
At the time, that didn’t feel like perfectionism. It felt like professionalism.
Looking back, I can see it for what it was. Perfectionism doing its best work by stopping me from learning through action.
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After nearly 20 years of blogging, there’s one mindset that’s helped me keep going, keep learning, and keep writing without tying myself in knots.
It isn’t confidence, talent, or getting things “right”. It’s much simpler than that: Be better than yesterday.
That idea has stayed with me not because it sounds nice, but because perfectionism has a very real, very sneaky cost.
It quietly stops you from ever improving.
What Perfectionism Sounds Like When You’re Writing
If you’ve ever stared at a blog draft and noticed thoughts like these creeping in, you’re not alone:
- “This isn’t very good.”
- “Other people do this better.”
- “I should have figured this out by now.”
- “Who do I think I am, writing this?”
That isn’t truth talking. It’s perfectionism.
And it’s sneaky, because it doesn’t shout or cause a fuss. It whispers. It sounds sensible, professional, and responsible, like you’re just trying to do a good job.
But its real job is to keep you exactly where you are.
Why Perfectionism in Writing Stops You from Improving
Here’s the part about perfectionism that doesn’t get talked about enough: It doesn’t motivate you to do better. It stops you from doing anything at all.
If the bar sounds like:
- “This needs to be really good”
- “I need to know what I’m doing”
- “I shouldn’t put this out unless it’s right”
Then waiting feels like the safest option.
Perfectionism freezes learning. And without learning, there is no improvement.
Why “Better Than Yesterday” Builds Writing Confidence
Being better than yesterday gives you a fairer, more realistic place to stand. It doesn’t ask you to leap ahead or compare yourself to someone else who’s been doing this for years. It simply asks you to move.
Not perfectly. Just forward.
That one shift gives you permission to take action without waiting to feel ready. And confidence doesn’t come from thinking harder or planning better. It comes from repetition. From doing the thing again, with slightly more ease than last time.
Perfectionism Isn’t High Standards – It’s Rigidity
This is where perfectionism is often misunderstood.
And this is where my own experience really changed how I see it
Most people who struggle with it don’t lack care. They care deeply about their work, their clients, and how they come across. That’s why being told to “just stop being a perfectionist” usually feels unhelpful or dismissive.
Your care isn’t the problem. Your standards aren’t the issue.
The issue is rigidity.
Perfectionism narrows what feels acceptable. It tells you there’s one “right” way to do something, and if you can’t do it that way, you probably shouldn’t do it at all. And that rigidity is what blocks improvement, because improvement needs room to be a bit messy.
How I Started Blogging Without Knowing What I Was Doing
I remember when I first started writing blogs. I didn’t really know what I was doing - same as everyone. But I did know that blogging was something I’d enjoy.
It fitted perfectly with how my introverted brain works. I could take all the thoughts scooting around my head and turn them into something that might help someone else. I loved taking an idea and shaping it into something that made people think or see something in a slightly different way.
I still do.
I like using a bit of humour and a bit of story to make things easier to read and more interesting. And I think I do okay. There are plenty of people who do it better than me, but that’s never really been the point.
It does what I want it to do. It connects, it gets people thinking, and it helps people feel less alone.
When I look back at those early blogs, I refuse to be embarrassed by them. At the time, I was genuinely proud of them. And the more I wrote, the better they became. Something else happened, too. My brain started to change slightly. I’d notice things in everyday life and think, “Oh, I could use that in a blog.”
And I still do that now, all the time. I love it. I love the creativity it gives me.
But none of that would have happened if I’d waited until I felt confident, clear, or “good enough”.
From Bookworm to Blogger: A Lifelong Love of Writing
Writing has always been part of who I am. As a child, I was a voracious reader - the kind of child who got told off for reading at the dinner table. I always had my head in a book.
And that love of language never really went away.
Over the years, I’ve written a lot. I’ve blogged for nearly 20 years. I even wrote a book—Grow Your Private Practice—seven years ago, and it still makes its way into the hands of therapists trying to find their voice.
I’ve taken courses, read books, and studied copywriting. Not because I wanted to be perfect, but because I wanted to keep improving.
So if you’re just starting out? If your first few blogs feel a bit awkward or flat? That’s not a sign you’re doing it wrong. That’s a sign you’re doing it right.
How Perfectionism Quietly Blocks Learning When You’re Blogging
This is the part that’s easy to miss. Perfectionism doesn’t just delay action, it blocks learning.
When you wait until something feels perfect before you share it, you miss the feedback that only comes from doing. When you stay in your head instead of experimenting, you stay stuck in theory. And when you wait to feel confident, you miss the very experiences that build confidence in the first place.
You don’t learn by thinking harder. You learn by writing the blog, pressing publish, and noticing how it feels afterwards.
That’s where the real information is:
Which bits flowed more easily than you expected
Which parts felt awkward
What kind of structure helps you
What sounds like you, rather than what you think you should sound like
Perfectionism promises safety, but what it really does is freeze you in place.
Writing in the Age of AI: Why Your Voice Matters More Than Ever
It’s also worth saying this out loud.
In a world where AI tools can generate perfectly fine, technically correct content in seconds, the thing that actually stands out isn’t polish. It’s you.
Your stories. Your examples. The way your brain makes sense of the world. The everyday observations you connect to the work you do.
That’s not something a tool can replicate.
So if you’re just starting out, or starting again, comparing your early blogs to someone else’s years of practice, or to something that sounds very slick and generic online, is wildly unfair.
What feels a bit clumsy now is often just you finding your feet. And sounding like yourself is never a weakness.
The Writing Win Most Perfectionists Miss
If you’ve written a blog, even a short one, even one you’re not sure about, don’t brush past that.
You didn’t wait for perfect. You didn’t let fear decide. You showed up.
And the next blog you write will be a little better, not because something magical happens overnight, but because you kept going.
If Perfectionism Is Holding You Back From Writing
If you’re reading this and feeling a bit seen, that’s a good thing. It means this is for you.
So here’s your permission slip. Write the imperfect thing. Celebrate the fact that you started. Let “better than yesterday” be enough.
Perfectionism doesn’t make you better.
Practice does.
Confidence grows through action.
Self-trust comes from doing.
And Improvement only happens once you give yourself room to begin.
What’s one small thing you could do today that would make tomorrow a little easier?
