Feel free to f*ck up

I planned on doing a video blog last year. The problem was, I was scared of looking silly on camera (inevitable, trust me) and hated that I didn’t have the ability to create a television-ready broadcast complete with studio lighting and zippy Flash intro. I was daunted by the fact that I had no clue how to get professional results using an amateur video editing program.

Really, how ridiculous is that? But because I was putting all this pressure on myself to create something perfect the first time around (I do this often, and it is often the source of my frustration), I was so afraid to tackle the project that it never got done.

Do you know how good you get or how much you learn from doing nothing? Mmm-hmm, you guessed it. Zero equals zero. Even I know that, and I got C’s in math. Except in geometry, which is the biz. Anyway.

I had to give myself permission to mess up. Not only did I give myself permission to mess up (because why do things halfway?), I made it mandatory.

I said to myself,

Self. You must make a big honkin’ mess of this whole thing. When you’re finished, it should be blatantly obvious to anyone who watches that you are a goofball and a complete amateur. The results should be so horrifically bad that you never want to show anyone for fear of public shaming by a mob of angry villagers wielding torches.

And then you’ll post it for all to see.

When I changed my mindset, screwing up became my goal. And guess how much I learned? A lot more than I did waiting to magically achieve newscaster-esque perfection on the first go-round using a program I’ve only used a few times.

Swap haul video

Note to self: face powder is a must. Sigh.

So, I’m passing on the assignment. Stop putting so much pressure on yourself and find something to really f*ck up. Create a really ugly website using tables(!); take blurry, grainy pictures of the weeds in your garden; make an ice cream and fried chicken casserole; wear white patent leather sandals with fishnets. DO IT. Own it. F*ck-ups lead to freedom.

Look, everybody messes up. Sometimes you have to just do it. It’s not a mistake if you learn from it, and if you learn something, you’re already moving forward.

You have my permission, so…what will you f*ck up?