Imagine this: You have two small cameras you put in your purse every time you go out and do something cool. You record the things that catch your eye. You even found a small attachment to place these cameras on your main camera body so you can record your shooting process. You have enough content for the next three months. And yet… you haven’t posted any of it.
You have big dreams of finally starting your YouTube channel, and some of the videos you created would make the perfect first vlog. You can even break it down into short-form videos if you wanted to. But there’s something about the thought of sitting down to edit that’s a little too much for you.
Then you do edit, and you post it, and it doesn’t do too well but you’re still excited to create another video. And you do! Congrats! But you immediately lose steam and don’t post for a few months. Imagine where you would be if you posted consistently. Probably in the same place – at least you’d have five videos under your belt.
The Fear of Starting
That’s the term. That is what has kept me from doing the projects I’ve wanted to do. Maybe there’s something deeper to it, like the fear of failure or potential negative comments. I should be used to this as a creative as we get feedback all the time. All my work feels so personal, it’s an extension of me. When someone has a negative thing to say about my work, I think they hate me. Or, thought. I’ve learned to separate my work from myself, and yet there are some moments when those comments sting.
I could blame my ADHD – getting myself to sit down and do something without a deadline is rough. Even when freelancing, my clients give me deadlines on when projects should be done which is amazing for my busy brain. It’s when I actually sit down and do something is when I hyperfocus on that project until it’s perfect.
Perfection is my Downfall
That’s the other thing that’s keeping me from doing anything. I’m learning to tell myself “that’s good enough” when I put too much focus on a project. Again, this “extension of me” concept had me creating the most perfect pieces of work I could before releasing to the world. If I kept this going, I would only post my work once a month. Maybe less.
These new video projects I’m trying to do are in a realm I’ve seldom explored. Because it’s new territory, the perfectionist in me is coming out of its cage. I’m fighting back as best I can and winning. I’ve released some Reels that I could’ve tweaked a little more. “This is all practice,” I tell myself constantly. I also remind myself that I can go back and edit it later once I’ve mastered a few more skills.
It’s all a Learning Process
I have these editing ideas in my head, however, I don’t have the right skill set yet. Getting a gimbal and learning how to balance it really upped my video taking skills. DaVinci doesn’t seem as daunting anymore (I may need to purchase the full license soon). I’m not afraid to take video projects on anymore. In fact, I’m starting to love them more than photo.
It’s just posting my own content with my face that I need work on. I used my TikTok accounts to help myself get more comfortable with this type of content. After a few months of it, I think I’m ready to do long form content (this is on my 2026 bingo card). I’m also releasing this blog post to put a little pressure on myself to create more videos.
I have three trips planned for this year and five or six vlogs I have yet to edit. I’ll release these soon! Hopefully. If I don’t, feel free to bug me about it on IG.
