Hey,
This issue nearly didn't happen today.
I'd already convinced myself that next week made more sense.
More prepared. More polished. One more week to get everything just right.
But that's not how it works, is it? There's always a reason to wait.
So here we are. The first email of The Other Feed. Sent anyway.
This Week From Me
I've spent the last couple of months building this newsletter from scratch, the website, the brand, the whole thing, and I've questioned nearly every step of it.
Is the landing page clear enough? Is the font right? Is the niche too broad, too narrow, too something?
Perfectionism is a funny thing. It disguises itself as high standards. It tells you you're just being thorough, just making sure, just not quite ready yet.
But mostly it's just fear with better PR.
This morning I had a choice: send the first newsletter today or talk myself into waiting another week.
I nearly chose the week.
I'm glad I didn't.
Because here's what I've learned building this thing so far: nothing teaches you faster than actually doing it.
Not planning it. Not perfecting it. Doing it.
So this is me doing it.
Imperfect and sent.
One Idea Worth Sitting With
Resistance always sounds reasonable.
It never shows up and says, "I'm scared, don't do the thing."
It shows up as "next week would be better", or "it's not quite ready yet", or "just one more tweak and then I'll start."
Steven Pressfield calls this The Resistance in his book The War of Art.
The idea is simple: the more something matters to you, the harder the resistance fights to stop you from doing it.
Which means the size of your resistance is actually a pretty good indicator of how much something matters.
The dentist appointment you've been putting off.
The conversation you keep meaning to have.
The habit you've been starting on Monday for three months now.
The thing you want to build but haven't quite begun.
None of those feels like fear. They feel like practicality. Like timing. Like almost-but-not-quite-ready.
But they're all the same thing, wearing different clothes.
What's the thing you keep almost starting?
One Small Thing
This week, just start the thing.
Not perfectly. Not completely. Just the first tiny version of it.
Don't redesign your morning routine. Just wake up and don't check your phone for five minutes.
Don't overhaul your diet. Just drink a glass of water before your first coffee.
Don't write the whole thing. Just open the document.
Resistance loses most of its power the moment you begin. The beginning is the hardest part. Everything after that is just continuing.
Start before you're ready. Improve as you go.
Until next week,
Owen