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Hey Reader,

Have you ever heard the advice, “Sweat the small stuff”?

It’s something I have heard Stephen Bartlett talk about on Diary of a CEO. He says this is one of his mantras and what he believes, one of the reasons for his success.
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I love Stephen Bartlett and his podcast (it's one of my favorite podcasts right now), but I also think that this idea that we should always be "sweating the smallest stuff" is one of the worst pieces of advice when you're early on your journey.

Instead, I believe that advice works depending entirely on where you are in your journey.

If you are just starting (or even, thinking about starting) anything new... A project, a creative idea, a business, a new habit, a new direction in your life... I actually think “sweat the small stuff” can be some of the worst advice you could follow.

If you’re already good at something…
If you’re already in the arena…
If you’ve been doing the work for a while…

Then yes, sweating the small stuff can help you go from good to great.

• That’s how athletes improve.
• That’s how musicians improve.
• That’s how high performers improve.

They refine. They optimize. They polish.

But if you're not yet at that stage, if you're at the beginning stage, focusing on the small stuff often doesn't help.

If you have an idea, a dream, or something you want to change…

And it still feels unclear, raw, messy, or unfinished because you don’t fully know how it’s going to work, you don’t know the exact path, or you don’t know all the steps yet.

When you hear “sweat the small stuff” at this stage, what it usually turns into is:

• Overthinking
• Perfectionism
• Analysis paralysis
• Waiting... and therefore, never starting

Because now you feel like: “I can’t move until I have all the details figured out.”

And that’s where most people get stuck.

Not because they’re lazy.
Not because they don’t care.
But because they’re trying to get it right before they get it started.

ACTION CREATES CLARITY

Here’s what I believe instead:

Clarity doesn’t come from thinking.
Clarity comes from moving.

You don’t need the perfect plan.
You don’t need the perfect version of your idea.
You don’t need to know exactly where this is going.

You just need to know the general direction of where you want to go.

You might know:
​“I want to help people.”
“I want to create something.”
“I want to feel more freedom.”
“I want to change careers.”
“I want to feel more like myself again.”

Knowing that’s enough to know that you need to change something and that you need to take the first step.

You CAN take action on something that is not fully formed, not fully clear, and not fully figured out.

Because movement creates feedback.
And that feedback is what creates clarity.

MESSY ACTION & FAILING FORWARD

And here’s the part no one really talks about:

When you start, you will probably do a lot of things wrong. You will make mistakes, you will change your mind along the way, you will pivot... And so, you will feel like you’re failing

But that’s not failure. That’s information.

That’s how you learn what works.
That’s how you learn what you like.
That’s how you learn what you don’t like.

You don’t find the path before you walk it.
You find the path by walking.

WHEN TO "SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF"

So I think the better rule is this:

First, you start.
Then, you improve.

First, you get in the arena.
Then, you worry about refining.

Sweating the small stuff too early is like trying to edit a book you haven’t written yet.

You need something to work with first.

So, here’s what I want to leave you with.

Or even ask yourself this:

Instead of waiting for confidence, build confidence by doing.

If you’re at the beginning of something right now…

You don’t need to sweat the small stuff. You need to start.

Sweat the small stuff later.
Right now, sweat showing up.

And if this resonated with you, send this to someone who may be stuck overthinking.

Because beginnings are supposed to be messy.

And messy is how momentum is made.

THE INFINITE MINDSET

1 QUESTION FOR YOU

What story about yourself is holding you back from going after the life you want?

Love creating your mind one day at a time? Forward this to a friend so they can get in on the action and sign up below. Subscribe to The Created Mind Thank you for reading and sharing, Jenny ​​​​

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