For 2 years, I had been facing it; being aware that my website was outdated. For 2 years, I occasionally told myself to start writing the update. And for 2 years, it didn’t happen; I always found other things that were ‘more important.’ Until the moment my outdated website stopped working and went down. That’s when I HAD to do something about it.
I decided to just start. Without stopping. Without criticizing my own writing. I began writing, and later I would worry about what was written. Strangely enough, it went smoothly. In a few days (a few hours per day), the text was ‘done,’ meaning in its first raw form.
What did I learn from this process?
Investigate why you keep postponing something. Why did I find it so challenging? I came up with three reasons:
- The text is about myself, and I find that difficult.
- I had already written my website twice; what should I write for the 3rd time? How could I renew myself?
- My inner critic never finds anything good enough.
Once I knew this, I could delve into it and do something about it:
- Okay, it’s about myself, but hey, I’ve been around for 20 years, and I’ve had the privilege of working with many wonderful people. Maybe I could ask a few former clients for input. Check. I received very positive responses that inspired me to start.
- I had already written my own website twice. Patricia, the person who takes care of my (social) media, said, “Nicole, if it’s good, it’s good, right? You don’t have to reinvent it.” Mmmm, that’s, of course, true. Not everything has to be different. That helped. I also found out that, because I had been thinking about it a lot in my head, I was further along than I thought.
- Often, I don’t progress because my inner critic has already rejected an idea or a sentence before it’s even on paper. Recognizable? By just starting to write and temporarily putting the inner critic on the backburner, I could work freely. Wonderful. You just write down what you think, what you’ve heard from clients, and what you stand for.
- Finally, I had my first version read by a communication friend. And what turned out? She didn’t laugh at me. I didn’t have to be ashamed. You might think, what a strange sentence, but don’t you have that occasionally? You think, “What will others think of it?” Well, others don’t find anything strange at all and enjoy helping you and, in this case, giving feedback. Helping to make it from good to even better. I like to do that too; to help others move forward. In short, ask for advice and see to what extent your inner critic has a point. Or not.
I will continue to apply the above points more often. It will give me a wonderfully free feeling.
If you’ve become interested and want to see the result, my new website, feel free to look around. If you have tips or feedback, write to info@kootching.nl and let me know.