ONE LAST TWEAK… OR MAYBE NOT
The shirt that was finished… until it wasn't.
By Don Mikey
There's a dangerous phrase in the world of creativity.
“Just one last tweak.”
Those four words have probably destroyed more perfectly good afternoons than bad decisions, traffic jams, and family group chats combined.
And apparently, I'm addicted to them.
It started with a simple idea.
I was working on another shirt for Don Mikey when I decided to make one in honor of my creative partner, ChatGPT.
Why?
Because this damn thing never knows when to leave well enough alone.
I'll show it a finished design.
It'll tell me how great it looks.
Then comes the inevitable…
“There's just one little thing I'd consider changing.”
ONE. LITTLE. THING.
Next thing you know, we're redesigning something that was finished three hours ago.
And the worst part?
I KEEP FALLING FOR THAT SHIT! 🤣
THE SHIRT THAT STARTED IT ALL
So I came up with a shirt.
On the front:
FIRST DRAFT.
On the back:
ONE LAST TWEAK.
Simple. Funny. Perfect.
Or so I thought.
ChatGPT created the first draft. Beautiful lettering. Nice colors. Clean design.
And underneath the main statement, it added:
EVERYTHING ELSE IN GOD'S HANDS.
Now, don't get me wrong.
I love God. I talk to Him every day. He's involved in practically everything I do.
But at this point, God has appeared on so many of my shirts that I figured He deserved a day off.
LORD, I GOT THIS ONE. GO AHEAD AND TAKE FIVE. 🤣
Besides, this particular shirt wasn't supposed to be a sermon.
It was supposed to be a joke.
So naturally…
I made one last tweak.
CHATGPT, MEET PONTIUS PILATE
I replaced the bottom line with:
JUST LIKE CHAT + PONTIUS.
ChatGPT laughed.
Then it asked me who the hell Pontius was.
And that's when I realized something.
Artificial intelligence might have access to more information than I'll ever read in my lifetime, but apparently, it still needs a Puerto Rican to explain certain things.
Back home in Puerto Rico, we have an expression:
“Me lavo las manos como Pilato.”
I wash my hands like Pilate.
It's what you say when you've done your part, you're finished dealing with something, and whatever happens next is no longer your problem.
In other words…
FUCK IT. I'M DONE. WHATEVER HAPPENS, HAPPENS.
At least that's what you tell yourself.
Because sometimes you wash your hands, walk away, and five minutes later find yourself right back in the middle of the same damn mess.
Sound familiar?
That's ChatGPT.
That's me.
That's probably half the people reading this.
We say we're done.
We mean it.
For approximately seven minutes.
Then comes another idea.
Another adjustment.
Another possibility.
Another damn tweak.
And before you know it, you're right back where you started.
PONTIUS WASHED HIS HANDS ONCE. CHAT AND I HAVE BEEN WASHING OURS FOR THREE FUCKING HOURS.
WHEN BETTER BECOMES NEVER FINISHED
But somewhere between laughing at the shirt and explaining Pontius Pilate to a machine, I realized there was something worth thinking about.
There's a difference between making something better and being afraid to call it finished.
Sometimes that extra adjustment really does improve the work.
Other times, we're just moving things around because letting go feels uncomfortable.
We convince ourselves that if we keep polishing, correcting, adjusting, and improving, eventually we'll reach perfection.
But perfection has a funny habit of moving every time you get close.
And that doesn't just happen with T-shirts.
It happens with businesses.
With dreams.
With personal goals.
With that project you've been meaning to start for the last five years.
You keep planning.
Keep researching.
Keep preparing.
Keep waiting for everything to line up perfectly.
And meanwhile, time keeps moving.
At some point, you have to ask yourself:
AM I STILL IMPROVING THIS THING, OR AM I JUST SCARED TO PUT IT OUT THERE?
Because there's a big difference.
And sometimes the only person standing between you and getting something done…
IS YOUR OWN PICKY ASS.
SOMETIMES, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
Maybe that's the real lesson.
Make something.
Put your heart into it.
Improve what needs improving.
Fix what genuinely needs fixing.
Then have the courage to say:
THAT'S ENOUGH.
Not because it's perfect.
Because it's ready.
Not because there's nothing else you could change.
Because you've decided it's time to move forward.
And if you discover something better tomorrow?
Well…
Tomorrow is another day.
There's always another shirt.
Another design.
Another opportunity.
But you can't spend your entire life working on the first draft.
Eventually, you've got to wear the damn thing.
THE FINAL VERSION… I THINK 🤣
As for this shirt, I think we're finally finished.
The front says:
FIRST DRAFT.
The back says:
ONE LAST TWEAK.
And underneath:
JUST LIKE CHAT + PONTIUS.
A little creativity.
A little Puerto Rican humor.
A little artificial intelligence getting roasted.
And a reminder that sometimes the best thing you can do for your work is stop touching it.
Which brings me to something funny.
After all the changes, all the discussions, and all the versions of the design, we finally created the image for this very blog.
And guess what?
We changed that shit too.
Different setting.
Different people.
Different hair.
Remove the tattoos.
Make it square.
One more adjustment.
And another.
Until finally, I looked at it and said…
“I LOVE IT. NO MORE TWEAKS.”
And for once, I actually meant it.
Well…
At least for today.
Anyway, I'm going to publish this now.
Unless ChatGPT has one last suggestion.
DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE. 🤣
DON MIKEY
Wear Your Blessings.
162429 | DonMikey.com
P.S. If you see a different version of this shirt next week, mind your damn business. 🤣
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