How I stopped being a perfectionist

“The pursuit of excellence is gratifying and healthy. The pursuit of perfection is frustrating, neurotic, and a terrible waste of time.” Edwin Bliss

So, about my free eCourse, The Gutsy Guide to Your Authentic Freedom, I love it and I’m ready for it to leave the nest. Not because it’s perfect but because it’s pretty darn excellent.

I have been thinking about the quote above and how it relates to the two major steps I’ve taken to get me to launch day, which is this Wednesday, so get ready! 

Step #1 was determining what to make the eCourse about. Yep, aint gonna lie, this first step had me stalled for a couple weeks because I wanted the topic to be perfect. I wanted to make sure that what people learned from it was absolutely the very best thing they could learn.

When I finally realized that I could create dozens of eCourses (because I have a whole lot of great information to share) it took the pressure off of having to just choose one topic for the rest of my life (because that’s pretty dramatic!) and made writing much easier. I trusted that what came out of my free-writing was exactly the right message I need to communicate right now.

LESSONS LEARNED WITH STEP #1:

  • Trust and listen to my intuition. It always steers me in the right direction and always has my back
  • Let go of perfection and attempting to control everything. It’s a façade to keep me stuck and filled with fearful thoughts
  • Start! With no self-imposed rules or pressure

 

Step #2 included everything that I’m not comfortable doing. I’m talking all the technology stuff like picking a new marketing service, creating a new webpage, and all of the glitches associated with those things. Oh, and then there’s a whole new vocabulary of words to learn. CSS, SEO, RSS Feeds, etc. Bleh! Of the two steps, this one was worse because it entailed having to do things that 1) I don’t naturally like doing and 2) that I’m not good at doing. Yet, they’re a necessary evil when you know they are going to move you ahead.

 

LESSONS LEARNED WITH STEP #2:

  • I’m not naturally good at everything. Damn 
  • I want to stick to doing things that come easy to me and stay afraid or shy of reaching out of my comfort zone to learn things that (at the beginning) I’m really dumb at
  • Remembering that being kind, patient, and compassionate with myself is the best solution. Back in the day of figuring out health and fitness I used to be pretty hard on myself so it was nice to recognize and remember this lesson and that it doesn’t work. Being kind and gentle does.

What is going on in your life that you’re waiting to launch until it’s ‘perfect?’ Or are you waiting for the perfect time or the perfect opportunity to start something?

Striving for perfection is hog wash and there is never a ‘perfect time.’

YOUR REWARDS FOR GOING FOR EXCELLENCE AND STARTING:

  • Every time you start and work toward something your energy shifts (that’s a great thing!)
  • You learn something new (adding to your value!)
  • You create fresh experiences (which makes you come alive!)
  • Starting and striving for excellence, instead of perfection, gets you closer to whatever you want to achieve (vs the alternative: staying stuck.)

Good luck out there this week. You got this.

Let’s hear it. What are you going to start this week? Post it below!

Kelly Summersett