The Fig Tree, Perfectionism, and Just Getting Shit Done

"I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet, and another fig was a brilliant professor..."

Damn, Sylvia Plath really nailed it here. If you’ve ever felt like life was throwing a million options your way and you couldn’t pick one, this hits hard.

You’re standing there under the tree, staring at all these juicy figs—every one of them some amazing future—and you just… can’t. You’re overthinking, over-planning, and before you know it, the figs are shriveling up and hitting the ground.

Thanks for reading For The Hearts Still Beating! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

"I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet."

That’s perfectionism for you. Sneaky little bastard.

I’m living this right now.

I’ve been redoing my website (ugh) and working on these damn blog posts for my weddings. And let me tell you, it’s a rabbit hole of overthinking. Which images do I show? In what order? How do I make it look different and amazing?

Next thing I know, I’m sitting there frozen, scrolling through the same photos for the 500th time, questioning every single decision. It’s like decision fatigue is my new hobby.

Same thing with social media. What do I post? Is it meaningful enough? Will people even care? I get so caught up in trying to make it perfect that half the time, I just don’t post at all.

But here’s the thing I’ve learned (and am still reminding myself every day):

• Perfection is a myth.
• You can’t fuck it up if you’re actually doing something.

Some of my best work—the photos that hit—happened because I just showed up and did the damn thing. Wind messed up the veil? Boom, magical moment. A couple laughed during the “serious” shot? Bam, real connection.

"I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn’t make up my mind which of the figs I would choose."

Sound familiar? You’re waiting for the perfect choice, but life doesn’t work like that. You don’t get more time under the tree just because you’re being careful.

Those figs—those moments, those opportunities—they’re not gonna wait. They don’t care if you’re “ready” or if it’s “just right.” They’re either gonna be picked or they’re gonna drop.

So what’s the move?
You fucking pick one.

Here’s what I’m doing:

• I’m picking photos I love, not the ones I think I should post.
• I’m sharing moments on social media that feel real to me, even if they’re not groundbreaking.
• I’m letting the blog be messy if it has to be, because messy is better than not done.

The figs won’t pick themselves, right? So I’m grabbing one, and I’m eating it. (Okay, that metaphor got weird, but you get the point.)

What’s your fig?

Is it a project you’ve been overthinking? A thing you’ve been waiting for the “right” time to do? Or maybe it’s just something you’ve been too scared to start.

Here’s the deal: It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be yours.

Reply to this email or drop a comment:

• What’s the one thing you’re gonna pick today?
• How are you gonna start, even if it’s messy as hell?

Let’s do this together. Let’s stop starving under the tree.

Life’s too short to wait for the perfect moment. Climb up, grab a fig, and see where it takes you. You’ll thank yourself later.

Cheers to picking figs and getting sh*t done,
Björn

Thanks for reading For The Hearts Still Beating! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.