🥊 The mindset I’m using to fight perfectionism right now

Hi friends,

You know how I send this newsletter every Tuesday? Well, this week I didn’t quite know what I wanted to talk about. But then I remembered something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately—and it came from a book I just started reading: The Five Types of Wealth by Sahil Bloom.

At the beginning of the book, Sahil suggests doing an exercise to identify your “Life Razor.”

A Life Razor is a personal phrase or principle that helps you filter your decisions—like a compass to help you stay aligned with your main priorities. According to Sahil, your life razor should be:

→ Controllable
→ Ripple-creating
→ Identity-defining

After some journaling, brainstorming, and talking to ChatGPT (yes, I do that too), I landed on this phrase: “I show up even when it’s not perfect.”

It’s simple, but it feels so true to the season I’m in right now.

MY VIDEO WENT VIRAL… AND THEN I DELETED IT

I once made a YouTube video that really took off—200,000 views in just a few weeks. But I ended up making it private.

Why? Because the video didn’t feel like it was mine.

I’d written a full script and read it off a teleprompter. The information was good, but the video didn’t feel like me. I wasn’t speaking from the heart. I felt like I was performing—like a machine.

And even though the video was “successful,” I didn’t want thousands of people to see it. Because views mean nothing if the content doesn’t reflect who I am.

THE FEAR OF NOT BEING PERFECT

If you’ve been here a while, you know I care deeply about the quality of what I create—especially on YouTube. But I also struggle with perfectionism. And I think a big part of that comes from the fact that I’m not a native English speaker.

When I watch content in the self-improvement space, most creators speak English perfectly because they are native speakers of English. And sometimes I catch myself thinking: I have to sound perfect to be taken seriously. That thought alone can make filming videos feel terrifying. Like I have to double-check every word. Like I’m not allowed to make mistakes.

That mindset has stopped me from showing up and recording content consistently.

So I’m reminding myself: I show up even when it’s not perfect.

Because perfection isn’t the goal—authenticity is.

BECOMING MORE ME ON CAMERA

One thing I’ve been working on in therapy is becoming more myself online. Not just saying things that are true, but also saying them in a way that feels like me.

A small but powerful shift? I stopped sitting like a news anchor when I film. Now, I sit however I want—cross-legged, with a leg up, whatever feels natural. Because when I’m physically comfortable, my words come out more naturally too.

It might sound silly, but it makes a huge difference.

WHERE I AM RIGHT NOW

Lately, I’ve been creating YouTube videos that I’m truly proud of. I love the titles, the thumbnails, the ideas—and when I rewatch them, they actually feel like me. But despite all that… they haven’t been performing well. Most of them are getting less than 10,000 views.

That’s been hard to sit with. I’ve been pouring so much heart into these videos, and yet the numbers don’t reflect that.

It reminds me of something James Clear calls the Valley of Disappointment in Atomic Habits. It’s that place where you’re doing the right things consistently, but you haven’t seen the payoff yet.

And maybe that’s exactly where I am right now.

Maybe this is the part where I’m supposed to keep going anyway. To trust the process. To keep showing up even when it’s not perfect—even when it’s not performing.

Because deep down, I believe that if I keep creating content that feels true to me, that reflects my voice and values… the rest will catch up.

This week, I’m reminding myself (and maybe you too): You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to keep showing up.

Your Life Razor might be different. It might change. Mine probably will too. But for right now, this one is keeping me grounded—and I’m so grateful for it.

Talk soon,
Veronika 🤍