Done is Better than Perfect

I work out 5-6 days a week. I’m in a boot camp-type class that meets 3 times a week and I do some cardio and yoga on the other 2-3 days of the week. I get up at 6:00 a.m., get dressed and head out the door. Most days I’m on it.

Last week, not so much.

I woke up one morning and just didn’t feel like getting out of bed. The toddler in my brain kept saying, “I don’t wanna.”

The perfectionist in my brain told me I’d never make my goal if I didn’t follow my plan to a tee. I had to get up and do exactly what I had planned for that day.

If I didn’t, the plan would be ruined. I’d fail.

Wow. No drama there.

And no room for anything in between either.

Ever notice how your brain tells you what you’re doing isn’t good enough?

This type of scenario comes up often in sessions with the successful women I coach. They have a presentation they are working on and it’s getting close to the deadline and they’re making themselves crazy with all the adjustments and changes.

Or they’ve set a goal for themselves or their team and have envisioned how achieving it should look. Those blinders keep them from seeing other pathways to the same result and that creates all kinds of stress when it doesn’t turn out the way they think it should have.

So much stress. So much mind drama. So much ‘shoulding’.

Too much energy wasted striving for perfection.

Want to know a secret?

Perfection is a myth.

It doesn’t exist. Truly. Even in Nature, there are flaws and mistakes.

(OK, the exception is math. That has to be perfect.)

So why do we chase it?

Are we worried that others will judge us?

Are we worried we’ll get fired?

Do we fear what it says about us?

Or, are we deep down believing what our brain is telling us – we’re not good enough.

Ahhhhh. Now we’re getting somewhere.

Here’s the deal: You can’t measure your value or your worth by what you do or how you do it. That’s society’s way and it doesn’t work well. Just look at all the health issues plaguing our country because of the excess stress in our lives.

You already are enough – just by being here.

And my friend, sometimes done is good enough.

If you find yourself stressing out over something not being perfect or you continue to believe you have to tweak and tweak until it’s just right, here are a couple of questions to ask yourself:

“What am I making it mean if I don’t get this done ‘perfectly’?”

“Is that really true?”

“How is this desire for perfection holding me or my project back?”

Take some time to ponder these questions and write your answers in a journal. That’s the best place to keep all your thoughts. I highly recommend doing what I call a “brain dump” every morning into a journal. Clears out all the junk and paves the way for clear thinking.

As for my workout, I got up and went to my health club and did a shorter version of what I had planned.

It wasn’t perfect.

I got it done.

I felt proud of myself.

And that is good enough.

If you’re ready to learn how to free yourself from shackles of perfectionism and finally take charge of your success, schedule a call with me today to talk about how we can work together to get you living the life you crave. Let’s do this together!