Okay. Here it goes: I struggle with perfectionism. I am free-writing this post to prove a point. I am not editing or making changes once it’s finished, and that’s okay.
I know that I can deliver a heartfelt message without all the bells and whistles. I am doing this not only for you, dear reader, but for myself as well.
You see, I have anxiety just like you. I am human and not without faults. Even as I am typing this I can feel the tension in my stomach. I begin to think: “Will this be any good? Will anyone read it? Will anyone like it? What happens if they don’t? What happens if they don’t like me?”
Now I’m thinking to myself, “So what?” So what if not a single person sees this or reads it through to the end? Will my life suddenly end? Will my private practice fail? Will I lose the love and appreciation of my family? NO! Life will go on. I will go on, and I think, I will be better for having the experience.
My wife will probably be the most surprised to read this post as I never publish anything without her reading over it and editing it first. And I won’t let her make any changes either! (Love you, Sweetie!)
So what’s really the point of this then? I wanted to show that I can be happy with something that I have done without slaving over it, making edits, changing the order, adjusting the font size, or putting things in bold or italics.
And my message to you is the same: it doesn’t have to be perfect to be great.
Now will this post be great? I don’t know. Will I be happy no matter what? Yes.
The reason for that is simple- I have learned to let go of expectations. I have learned that striving for perfection leads to never doing anything at all. The fear of our faults leads us to paralysis.
If you have been to my website more than once, you may have noticed that things tend to change. You likely don’t notice all of them, but I tend to change something at least once a week. You see, I struggle with the idea that the website is not good enough. I know that it can be better. Will it ever be perfect? Will I ever be 100% satisfied that I can’t improve it somehow? No.
And that’s okay too. While letting go of expectations, I also know that there is always room for growth.
People often seemed confused when they learn that mindfulness is about acceptance and is most powerful when we let go of striving and just be.
Despite this, there is always room for growth. Acceptance does not mean complacency. It seems almost paradoxical, yet it is what I have realized to be true through my own practice.
I want to share that peace with others. That with acceptance comes peace, with peace comes joy, and with joy comes a meaningful life and meaningful connections with others.
It is possible, and it is great! If you would like to learn more or would like to just chat, give me a call. It would be my honor to talk to you.
