“I don’t know how to do it.”
“I don’t want to do it right now.”
“It takes too much time.”
“It’s too hard.”
“I’m not good at it.”
“It won’t work anyway.”
“I can’t.”
“I will do it when I’m ready.”
Have you had any of these thoughts go through your mind?
Wait hold on, let me ask that again.
When was the last time you had one of these thoughts go through your mind?
I experience a few of these daily!
If you can’t remember, it’s because you聽may not be aware of their presence, but you may see the results of these thoughts as:
- unfinished projects
- stalled plans
- goals unachieved
- no habit change
- cancelled obligations
- missed appointments
You may also be very familiar with the feelings that come from these results:
- disappointed
- discouraged
- impatient
- unmotivated
- sad
- defeated
- regretful
The common theme here is simple: we don’t want to fail.
I am VERY familiar with this pattern.
I used to be someone who loved being in control, winning, achieving, getting things done.
I also used to identify myself as a perfectionist, believing that it was a good thing to be, something to strive for.
Doesn’t everyone?
When I got a chance to really reflect on what it meant to be a perfectionist, I realized that I had NEVER been a true perfectionist in real life. What’s more, I actually didn’t care whether I was a straight A student, a housekeeping goddess, a super mom, or someone who is always put together, toned, well-read.
So why did I hang on to the perfectionistic identity?
I talked about it in my very first podcast episode here.
Since that realization, I have given myself permission to be 88% perfect, or honestly, less.
The outward result in my life is no different than before. Internally, there’s been a lot more peace and calm.
But I still find myself overwhelmed and anxious 聽on occasion – yes, with the old perfectionist tendencies. The difference is, I know what to do now.
My number one go to?
I cook. 馃檪
This is the last thing I made and it was perfectly imperfect!
