That Girl Radio

Just Hit Publish

• Rikki Lee

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Ever found yourself hovering over the 'publish' button, heart racing, mind swirling with what-ifs? That's the cliff edge where creativity meets courage, and on this episode of That Girl Radio, we're peeling back the layers of self-doubt and fear that often plague us as we stand on the brink of sharing our true selves with the world. 

Together, we navigate the journey of authentic expression, confronting the giants of misunderstanding and the incessant quest for perfection that can paralyze even the bravest of souls. This episode is not just a conversation; it's a call to action—an empowerment session to help you break the chains of inner criticism and societal pressures.  It's time to step into the light of vulnerability and hit publish on your life's manuscript, knowing that every draft has the potential to inspire, connect, and resonate with others in ways you may never have imagined.

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Speaker 1:

Hey guys, welcome back to that Girl Radio. I am your lovely host here, rikki Lee, also known as that Girl, and you are now tuned in to your weekly supplement to help you live and design your best life. And for today's podcast episode, in the words of Blake Newby, I want to encourage you to just hit publish. In an upcoming episode of who's that Girl, I got to sit down and dissect with Blake Newby the nuances of catapulting your dreams from your drafts by having the willpower to just hit publish. I'm someone who is constantly pressing draft, constantly pressing archive, constantly pressing delete, because I am just too afraid to go out there and just hit publish, and I want to unpack why that is. First, so often we have such big visions, big ideas, we have this big, glorious plan for what we see enacted for ourselves, right, and then you hit some sort of roadblock or there's a moment where you feel like there's no way that what I am drafting can unfold in the way in which I envision. But why is that? Why do we believe that it is impossible to make the impossible happen? Because when I look at my life and I think about how God has filled in so many of the spaces where a lot of people think that it couldn't have happened, it shouldn't have happened. It has for me, and where I am today is a testament of how good and how merciful God is, how much of a visionary he is, because a lot that has occurred for me is nothing that I put on a vision board because his vision was vaster than my own. And so why would you think that, if you are a present embodiment of God's capabilities, that he would leave you here and not be willing to take you further? Why do you think that the writings that you all co-authored would not be able to unfold in the way in which he intended them to?

Speaker 1:

So many of you have millions of drafts, an archive of beautiful stories waiting to be told, but you're unwilling to tell them because you're afraid of being perceived. You're afraid of being perceived and received in the wrong way. But my whole thing is if the writings are true, if the writings are authentic, if the writings are from a positive place, how could they be received wrong? There are so many things that I have created and drafted and kept on a hard drive because I was afraid to hit publish. I thought that if I was to put on the forefront who I really am. That wouldn't be received well, but that's baffling, because in real life I am received well. In real life, people admire me, people are drawn to me.

Speaker 1:

So why would I ever feel like I have to put on a performance for people online and dilute certain parts of myself and re-edit my draft and allow the markings of what society wants to change my story? It doesn't make any sense. You should want to hit publish because you put in the time to write this story, to produce this body of work, this story to produce this body of work. Not because you're looking for views, you're looking for validation, you're looking for likeness. It's because you worked on this and it's time to set yourself free and put it out there. Because when we hold on to these drafts, we become hoarders and I feel like you're hoarding your life story, you're hoarding your testimonies, you're hoarding your triumphs and your losses. That could be a piece of encouragement for someone else. So, girl, hit publish. Stop being so afraid to put yourself out there because you think that it can be tarnished, that it will be manipulated and make you be seen as something else, because even Jesus Christ was misunderstood Like. So what makes you think that you are going to be understood perfectly by every person. That's not how it works. But you have to be willing to hit publish. You have to be willing to move forward, to put yourself out there to try and do it over and over and over again with every single draft until you're free. You're free of all of the inner criticisms and all of the edits that you've been doing to all of these drafts, because that's essentially what you're doing You're hoarding the thoughts and the critiques of the world.

Speaker 1:

Have you ever been to like a writing seminar? Or, like I know, in high school I used to have what was called the Writing Center and it was a resource available to all students. In high school I used to have what was called the writing center and it was a resource available to all students in the school, and I often went to this place to have Dr Cynthia Ford edit my papers. We would work really closely together. She would, you know, fix my commas, really help me rewrite the structure of my sentences. So I was really clear on what I was trying to communicate and I remember one specific period where I frequented in this office more than I probably should have, and this was around the time that I needed to write my personal statement for my college application and at this point I had drafted what I thought was a beautiful story depicting what my life was like as the smart black girl and going to a predominantly white school.

Speaker 1:

This is a very nuanced experience because you are often one of none in these classrooms having to be the face of the race and in black spaces I felt like sometimes I wasn't black enough and in white spaces I was not white enough. I mean, I will be white no matter the proximity that I am to these people in academic spaces. I will never be them. So I talk about that in this paper and I go to the writing center and everyone has so many thoughts. You know they have so many contributions and changes that they would like me to make to this personal statement, know they have so many contributions and changes that they would like me to make to this personal statement and for me, I internalized a lot of those critiques.

Speaker 1:

I internalized a lot of those slashes and dashes made to my writing because I felt like I had done it wrong. I felt like my story was wrong and I internalized that my personal statement was not good enough that my personal statement was not good enough. But what I had done was put in the hands of these other people my work and my worth and I allowed them to edit and revise and change what essentially who I was. And this exercise has definitely affected me for many years after that, because I find myself a lot of the times with certain pieces of work that I have not put in enough reps with. I found myself going to people who were not necessarily qualified to validate my work and validate my worth, and put a stain on my self-worth. It put a damper on my self-esteem because I thought that I had to come as they wanted me to be received and when instead, I should have just come as I was to be received by who I needed to be received by, to be received by who I needed to be received by.

Speaker 1:

So many of us have so many drafts that we have allowed society to mark up all the way and all the way down and we look back at the original piece of beauty and artwork and say it's not enough. It's not enough, the people aren't going to know how to receive this, the people aren't going to want this, and we then instead allow the critiques and the noise of the world to push us away from hitting publish. We push the publish date further and further away because of our refusal to just take our draft in all of its glory and hit publish. It doesn't have to be perfect. It's going to have markings, it's going to have mistakes, it's going to have grammar. You know problems and you know it's going to have to go through the spell check and whatever else. But if the message is in the right place, if the purpose is in the right place, hit publish.

Speaker 1:

It does not have to be perfect. God says to come as you are, and so many of us are waiting to be the perfect masterpiece. So many of us are waiting to be the finished work of art before we hit publish. But there is no day on this earth that you will be perfect. So hit publish. Stop archiving all of these drafts of the person that you are and withholding them from society, because people need to see the imperfections. People need to receive the tribulations and the trials, because they need to be able to understand how to get through those things as well. Hit publish now.

Speaker 1:

Stop deferring the publish date, because there is someone that is waiting to receive your body of work. There is someone that is waiting to receive you and where you are now not the finished version. Allow him to use you in your draft season. Allow God to use your drafts to encourage somebody. Allow God to use your drafts to inspire somebody. Allow God to use your drafts to change somebody. Allow God to use your drafts to change somebody.

Speaker 1:

Stop waiting for the perfect iteration to drop. Do you not know? There have been so many masterpieces that have been dropped and snippets have been released online that the world loves, and then artists decide to drop it because they feel like, okay, the response was good enough, so let me just drop. But what if they would have just dropped when they made the music? So many of us are waiting for an audience to be received to put ourselves out there. But what if I told you, if you just put yourself out there, you could build the audience that you want to be received by? Stop doing it backwards, because then you will be signing yourself up to perform for people every single time. You put yourself out there because you have gotten the audience first. You basically have to mold your art and mold who you are to fit their needs, when instead you should just come as you are and the audience will come to you. They will be a magnet to you because you're putting out genuine, authentic pieces. You're putting out genuine, authentic you. So all people can do is wait to receive that. They're not questioning anything.

Speaker 1:

So today's episode was really short and sweet and to the point, but I really do hope that this was able to encourage someone to just hit publish. Hit publish this week on something that you have had drafted and been yearning to put out there, but you're just scared of how it'll be received, because what if this could be your big break? What if this is the one thing that could change your life? So I love you guys and I hope you enjoyed today's episode of that Girl Radio with your lovely host here, rikki Lee. If you're not already following the podcast on Instagram at that Girl Radio, make sure to do so, because we post tons of content on there for you guys to engage with what we've talked about for the week. And if you're not already following your host, ricky lee, you can find me on instagram at rickyleeco. I'm also on tiktok at the ricky lee, and you can also find me on youtube dropping weekly episodes to help you live and design your best life. I love you guys and I will catch you next week.