For as long as I can remember, I have struggled with perfectionism. But it wasn’t until this one time in college, that I realized it wasn’t a good thing. I was in one of my art classes, working on a painting and a professor walked by…
Professor: “STOP. You need to STOP it right now.” Me: “I CAN’T! I’m not done yet.” Professor: “Yes you are. You were done 15 minutes ago.”
My jaw dropped and I just stood there and stared at my canvas. This was the first time in my life that I actually “got it”. I looked at my painting and realized that in the process of going for the “ideal” that I had in my head of what I thought the painting was suppose to look like, that I actually MISSED my stopping point.
So what I mean is….I didn’t stop painting when the composition would have been the most interesting and the most appealing. Why does this matter? Cause we don’t want to see perfect. It’s not beautiful cause it’s not relatable. It’s a myth. It doesn’t exist. What I thought was about to be perfect, was actually “too much.” It was an overworked painting.
And then years later when I became a MOM, perfectionism and me were at it again.
I looked in the mirror one day and saw some overworked and old disheveled looking lady looking back at me. I didn’t even recognize her. The woman in the reflection was exhausted and stressed because she was striving for something that didn’t exist at the stage of life she was in. A clean home, toddlers that needed attention, a job, bill paying, meals to be made, self care – any sane person would recognize there wasn’t time to do all of it, yet I was trying to do it all…and even worse…I was trying to do it perfectly. Ugh.
Then there’s my business that I ADORE. I have this mission – this vision – to help people and change the world. I truly believe I have something that will IMPACT LIVES and families. But I know I have to face my fears so that I can grow and succeed, yet I’ve been struggling with that. So a while back, I joined this leadership group online. I’m all about the self help stuff. And one morning I woke up to a video titled…
“Are you a perfectionist? If so, then you need to STOP!”
I was like “Oh crap, am I doing it AGAIN? I know better! Nooo!!!”
As I watched the video, I had to stop and replay a few times so that I could write this quote down. It’s life changing:
“Stop trying to create A+ work all of the time, Because B- work will literally change people’s lives. You are robbing the world of the VALUE you have to offer when you continue to strive for perfectionism.”
Yup. That’s what I was doing, and was still doing that very morning. It needed to stop. And worse yet, it was happening in many areas of my life.
Like this blog…
It sat for months waiting for me to get it “PERFECT” so that I could unleash it on to the world. And that, my friends, is NO BUENO.
Cause the knowledge that I have gained…it was for a reason. I have a purpose…to share my knowledge and help others.
My STRONG passion for HEALTH & WELLNESS and fighting the battle of keeping our families’ healthy isn’t always easy, but I’m determined to help whoever wants to build a strong healthy foundation for their families with what I have learned.
But to do that…I need to SHARE what I have learned. I need to punch perfectionism in it’s rotten face, and embrace raw vulnerability for you guys. And that’s my promise to YOU.
And so here it is….the launch of my imperfectly perfect website / blog! It may be B- work and incomplete, but B- work can change lives.
So it is here, and on social media, that I will share with you what I have learned, what works for my family, and I will continue to take you on my journey of health and wellness….and also happiness. I hope you will join me on this journey!
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