It happens to many of us, that we would like to start doing some kind of activity, but we expect perfection right from the beginning. We compare ourselves with those who are already experts, and if we don’t perform at the same level, we quickly give up.

But not of those experts started as experts. All of them were beginners at one time or another, and then, with practice, consistency, they became experts.

My personal example with public speaking

I have been a member of Toastmasters for 5 years. Our objective is to become better communicators and better leaders.

As I was learning to give a speech, I was confronted with two different schools of thinking.

1. Practice for hours and try to do the best possible speech I could do, or
2. To just get in front of the audience and do not to worry about the quality of my work. Just to the damn thing.

1. Participate as often as possible,
2. Give myself permission to do crappy work

The first year as a member, I wasn’t any good at it.

• I was nervous,
• My voice was cracking
• I had tears rolling down my eyes
• I forgot what I was about to say
• I said what I wanted to say all wrong
• I used hundreds of filler words

In the second year, I was less bad. But I made it a habit. I never missed a meeting and I never missed an opportunity to speak.

The third year was beginning to get better. I was better able to focus on one speaking problem at a time.

By the fourth year, I began to feel confident, less afraid, my fellow members would congratulate me from time to time. Other members would ask me to mentor them.

Now I am in my fifth year of public speaking. I am beginning to speak outside of the club in other venues and I feel that I am as good as other speakers in the events where I go.

I feel that I have gotten here because of my consistency and because I gave myself permission to do crappy work.

Most people don’t give themselves permission to do crappy work

They play the comparison game, they see other people doing great work and they tell themselves

Oh, I can never be like them

Comparing their beginning with someone else’s finished and polished work.

But even those who have achieved greatness at their craft, they also started by doing crappy work.

As a dance teacher, I remember having students who had a terrible time learning. But they continued coming back for more classes, they were consistent and one day, they good dancers.

Whenever I have a dance student who tells me that she doesn’t look good doing it, I agree with her and tell her: “Yes, because you have only been doing it for 15 minutes.”

My next challenge is to learn to do videos. I am willing to do crappy videos until they are not crappy anymore. For that, I commit myself to do one video per week.

Will you give yourself permission to do crappy work?

How about you. Are you giving yourself permission to crappy work? In what?

1. Showing up to work and delivering as promised
2. Happy Thanksgiving from an immigrant. Thank you, Canada!
3. Lessons we can learn from our ancestors

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