Embracing Imperfection: My Struggle with "Good Enough"

Embracing imperfection is really hard. You might not think so after watching my videos or seeing my thumbnails, but I struggle with this a lot. And I think I'm not alone.

When you build apps, create videos, or upload content to YouTube, it's easy to get lost in the details. But I don't think it's that important to be perfect. What do we actually care about? We care about the content, the usability of our applications, and the problems we are solving. Everything else around that core should just be "good enough."

The Thumbnail Dilemma and the AI Trap

Right now, my biggest problem is finding a workflow for this channel's thumbnails. My first thought was to use AI tools. "Let's just generate this," I told myself. But then I realized I needed to learn more about graphic design—it's my biggest weakness.

This is something you want to keep your hands on. You don't want to hand over your creative direction to an external tool like AI. You can use them, but you shouldn't rely on them for day-to-day work. You want to steer the ship, and it's very hard to do that if you don't know how to work with the tools.

With programming, it's different. Code is just code. If an AI starts to go off track, you can just kick it in the side, put it back on course, and let the AI have its way again. But with graphics, it's harder. You can have AI generate JSON structures that explain styling, and if it's in code like CSS, you can work with it. But if it's a generated image for something like a thumbnail, I see a problem.

The Most Important Question to Ask Yourself

As you can see, I'm experimenting with the thumbnails. Hopefully, I'll find a style, and I can just go back and update them later. But I don't want the thumbnails to block me from releasing videos. And I don't want you to be blocked by something similar.

Ask yourself this: Is this task important enough to block my progress right now?

If the answer is no, then just find a solution that is "good enough for now" and ship it. Then see what happens.

I don't know what you, the audience, really want. If I spend a lot of time trying to make a video perfect, I might not release anything at all. And what I eventually release probably won't be what you wanted anyway. Worse, I might paint myself into a corner where I'm creating content people want, but it's not what I want to be doing.

Know Your Main Goal

I don't want to be a YouTuber. I want to build a company that can sustain me and my family. I want to build my own freedom. I want to build products, come up with marketing plans, watch those products grow, and play that game. That's what I want to do.

This YouTube channel is part of that journey, but it's not the main part. The apps are the main part. That means most of my time should go to the apps, not to perfecting YouTube videos.

So if you're finding yourself struggling, thinking that some side-task isn't good enough, maybe it is. Maybe it's good enough to be shitty. These thumbnails I keep coming back to? They are just there because they have to be there. I find the thumbnail game frustrating; I just want to record and send it.

Imperfection is the way to go. That's just it. The same goes for apps. Build something that's good enough, ship it, and then send an update when people give you feedback. That way, you don't waste time on things that people don't want anyway.