We attempt to polish to perfection. The funny thing to me is that we dare think of being able to achieve perfection. Nobody does nor should they think they can.

Weekly I write two editorials: the opening thought, then later the editor’s thoughts. One is more personal than the other. One tends to be more crafty or business-like than the other. Sometimes, however, I just write what’s on my mind.

Sometimes I throw something together based upon my own experiences. Time pushes me each Friday to send out the newsletter, and grasping for ideas becomes difficult some weeks. You might be amazed at how many times I write something and deem it over-reaching, stupid, or something most readers wouldn’t care about.

Those are invariably the topics most people resonate with.

With limited time, I write what’s on my heart, hanging on the tip of my tongue, or niggling my brain. In other words, they are real and raw and fresh. I don’t have the time to polish them until they shine craft-wise. I don’t have time to weight if they are important enough. That often means I don’t have time to edit the raw, genuine meaning and feelings in those words.

Chris Cage recently wrote a piece for Tiny Buddha that hit home with me.

“The truth is, most of the things that resonated most with people—my most-downloaded podcast episode, the articles that readers emailed me about months later—were the ones I almost didn’t share. The ones that felt too messy, too vulnerable, too real. And yet, those are the ones people said, ‘This is exactly what I needed to hear.’ Not the flawless ones. The human ones.”

That applies to anything you write. It needs to feel human, such that other humans can relate. It’s why AI has its limitations. It’s why human carries so much more weight than machine.

(Chris Cage is the author of Still Human: Staying Sane, Productive, and Fully You in the Age of AI. He is a product manager, writer, and mental health advocate. He writes at The Mental Lens blog and hosts the podcast Through the Mental Lens, where he explores the intersection of productivity, mental well-being, and technology. Learn more and subscribe to the newsletter at TheMentalLens.com.)