I Don’t Have to be Perfect
It’s 2012 (wooo!) and I’m beginning to think about the things I’d like to accomplish in the year ahead. What this also means is that I’m taking a look at 2011 and how I can do a few things better. So this afternoon, I shut down my computer for a while, and picked up a book that I feel is quite fitting for how I was feeling today.
I found myself in a bit of a frustrated mood this afternoon prior to the Great Laptop Shutdown (which lasted probably an hour). Oddly enough, it’s a mood that has seemed to be a fairly common theme for me over the past few months. It’s that feeling of, “I have all of these good skills to put to good use, but what do I REALLY want to do with them? Am I using them correctly? Am I wasting time? Why the heck am I not where I want to be professionally?”
When I get in these moods, the best thing I can do is to stop what I’m working on and take a breath, then find something that calms me and makes me feel like I’ve overcome that attitude. Later, I will usually revisit such thoughts with a fresh look. So when I picked up and read Jon Acuff’s book, Quitter, this afternoon, I was soon relieved by new perspective after finding this quote on page 62…
90 percent perfect and shared with the world always changes more lives than 100 percent perfect and stuck in your head.
Immediately, all of the good ideas that I’ve had and never done anything with came to mind. The things that I said, “It’s not good enough,” or “I’m too busy,” when in reality, neither statement is true. This sentence in Acuff’s especially hit home when he mentioned that his need for perfectionism would often times prevent him from writing new blog posts because he didn’t want to post them unless they were “just right”. (Um, guilty!!)
One thing I’ve known about myself for a while is that there are times when I think that if I can’t do something 100%, I just won’t do it at all. Does that mean I’m afraid of failure? Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t – that’s something I’ll be spending some time thinking about over the next few days. At the moment, I don’t really view myself as a fearful person, but there are definitely times when I don’t think something will work for me, so I just plain do nothing.
As I continued to read, I also recognized another trait that I have and would very much like to start addressing. The “self argument” trait…which means there are times when I make a decision to do something then later argue myself out of it, because I’ve convinced myself that it’s not as important as I first considered it to be. (I feel like this could also be procrastination in disguise.)
Acuff’s solution was a simple one: set non-negotiables with yourself monthly. Make a decision and don’t argue the point with yourself later. Chances are, if you thought it was important enough to commit to before, it’s still important to commit to it now. I think I’ve found a worthy challenge.
For me, I already know of a few things I’m ready to start being more consistent with.
(1) Blogging. Maybe not for every website that I own, but for at least a couple, including this one. I want to share my knowledge with others and meet new friends. Blogging is a great way to do that.
(2) Exercise. I’ve started taking Zumba classes weekly but there’ve been a few days when I decided not to go just because I “didn’t feel like it”. (Cue fail music here.)
(3) Reading 30 minutes a day. I love reading, yet I always find an excuse not to. Books hold a lot of knowledge (who would’ve thought, right??) and knowledge is something I long for, so what better way to find it?
These are just a few things I’ve started putting on my list of non-negotiable decisions for the first month of 2012. So here are my questions for you…have have you learned how to overcome perfectionism and procrastination? Do you have clear commitments set for the month ahead? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
–
Mandee Widrick is a social media coach and creator of Horse Family. Follow Mandee on Twitter or Facebook!
–
Photo credit: Pop Catalin
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
