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# Why obey the fear? It lies. (daily video)
- URL: https://thisreidwrites.com/why-obey-the-fear-it-lies-daily-video/
- Published: 2026-10-26T20:24:13.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-26T20:24:13.000Z
- Description: Perfectionism is fear in a really bad mask.
- Author: Ruthanne Reid, Author
- Tags: Daily Videos, fear, perfectionism

Perfectionism is fear in a really bad mask.

🎥

**I make pep-talk videos for struggling creatives every single day. If you want to be reminded that you are not alone, follow me below:* 

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## ROUGH TRANSCRIPT

Welcome back, creatives.  
Ruthanne Reid here, author and stroke survivor, to help you get out of block and  
into a daily habit of creation.  
Another one of those early mornings here where nobody is awake but me, not  
that I really mind, but it is kind of nice to have some peace and quiet.  
It's given me a moment to contemplate something very important, as well.  
The two rules of the Two Rule Recovery are simple,  
though not easy. One, make one new thing every single day,  
which not only trains you physiologically that your body understands  
making things is part of your normal, but it helps  
you to face the psychological barriers, which are hit in part two—  
which is, let that thing that you made be tiny  
terrible, and incomplete.  
You see, that one is important because it pushes against the perfectionism.  
"I'm not a perfectionist!" you say. "I only want it to be as good as it possibly can!"  
Well, yeah,  
of course you do, but it's gonna take multiple passes to get it there.  
It's not just going to spring fully formed from your head like a goddess.  
So I started really thinking about perfectionism.  
Like, why does that grip us the way it does?  
You know, I am not a perfectionistic person.  
I cannot afford to be, not with the way my life is.  
Chances are you can't either.  
So, what's the deal?  
Creatives, perfectionism is just fear in  
a really bad mask.  
Fear of being judged, fear of not being good enough, fear  
of not being fast enough, fear that somehow you're going to  
be compared to other people and your art will just suck...  
It's fear.  
Once you see it as fear, it becomes a lot less  
imperative to actually do what it says.  
So I'm going to encourage you, creative: today, make  
one new thing.  
You can let it be tiny.  
When I started doing this,  
it was one word a day because that is all that my stroke-addled brain  
could manage.  
But that is enough.  
That is enough to start the pattern, to build inertia,  
to actually create a habit.  
You can do this. Push against the  
perfectionism. Make one new thing.  
Let it be tiny, terrible, incomplete.  
It's not something that's going to get published.  
Nobody has to see it.  
It just has to exist.  
This is your physical therapy, creative.  
You are not alone. You can do this. Sit  
down with me, and together, pushing back against fear and  
perfectionism  
both, let's make something new.