Quality is large in part an end product of creating. If you are judging the work before or mid-process, you are setting yourself up for failure. Judging your work should only begin after your audience has judged it. Then you can insert your ego.
Some of your best work will also be the work you hesitated the most to publish. You will surprise yourself more often if you give your content a chance to see the light of day. Yes, your work should be edited to achieve maximum results. However, there comes a time when you need to pull the trigger.
Finding a reason to start creating content is easy, learning how to create content consistently is hard. I recently decided to take up a challenge that author Seth Godin proposes to all aspiring writers: we should write every single day. I propose that this practice is important to adopt for any kind of creator, whether your photographer, painter, graphic designer, or filmmaker.
Even if you don’t publish your work, the simple act of creating something every day will create a foundational process. This process can then be refined over time, helping you to create better work. Incremental improvements are often unnoticeable yet, if you trust that they will happen you will see results. These results may reveal themselves within a year’s time or in ten years. Your audience will let you know when the results are visible.
Creating content on a daily basis will also let you see if you like doing it! It will also reveal whether or not you need working with the best format. Maybe you would be a better podcaster rather than a filmmaker, or perhaps writing is a better option for your voice. If you create something every day, you will certainly learn more about what works best.
Don’t overthink the process. Don’t overthink your content. Trust that you can create something special and useful and it will eventually happen. Even if you have a gift, without a practice of creating that is built upon hard work you will give up when the going gets tough. Talent is only a part of the equation.
Make it so that all excuses are non-existent, that all barriers to entry are gone, and you will see that you can create. It can be done, every single day. Stop getting in your own way and your audience will thank you.