“Procrastination is pretentious perfectionism”.
I had this quote tucked away in my “second brain” because it rang true for me.
(Wish I could remember where I got it from, though).
And it’s a quote that ain’t so easy on the ears of “Mr Perfectionist” here.
But still one I needed to hear again today.
Now, perfectionism is a big deal for many people. It can be crippling. With enormous anxiety hurdles — no matter which way you zig or zag.
I get it.
But one thing that’s helping me deal with perfectionism… one blister-inducing step at a time… is writing daily. AND putting those words out on a regular schedule for people to read.
I simply can’t help but send things out in the state they’re in because of the tight deadline. ⏰
So:
It’s slowly wearing the edges off my perfectionism
And my back-of-brain alert system is like:
Huh? … no one’s freaking out because you spelled that word wrong or mixed your metaphors again?
So my front-of-brain is more relaxed.
Then the back-of-brain 😈 is like:
Woah! … don’t you go relaxing TOO much there sonny… You don’t want to swing the other way into unbridled mahem — do you?
So anxiety once again comes bucking and snorting its way back out of its corral.
So… yeah… I’ve got some way to go… but heading in a pleasing direction, mostly. 😊
But what “fun” it was reading up on this topic.
You see…
I had to give a hard pass to some of the advice given to help with perfectionism
I mean…
Am I the only one who finds it just stupid to completely stop doing some good things… just so you won’t perfectionalize the process?
Like this one from psychcentral.com:
To start, you should lower your standards with something easy. Perhaps you always make your bed every morning. One morning, don’t make your bed. The world won’t implode.
Sure, the world won’t implode… but you will have a messy bed.
Now, it might be considered a problem if it takes 15 minutes to make your bed because the hospital corners on the sheets have to be “just so”. And you rip it apart and start over 4 times so there’s not a wrinkle in sight.
But why not suggest to make your bed with a quick tuck in of the sheets… a quick pull up and flattening down of the covers… and… done!… Time: 30 seconds.
And the next line they spout… just gets my email-fanboy goat:
Or try sending an email without proofreading it first. Just send it as soon as you’re done typing your thoughts.
I suppose they’re thinking if you’re emailing your friend or something. But no way is this a good idea when it’s a business email. Or when you’re emailing a list of subscribers.
Taking at least one extra pass to make sure you’ve not done a twisted-finger whoopsie and turned “sit” into “s*it” or something…
It’s not a bad practice, y’know.
Happy to be challenged on that… but these are my thoughts.
So…
I don’t think all the advice out there on helping with perfectionism is the best
Certainly isn’t for me.
So, for people like me… who know they’ve got that deeply embedded perfectionist streak…
AND feel crippled by the procrastination it fosters…
I’m considering making something like a mini course… focused on how to move past perfectionism.
Something like “The Perfectionism Cure” is what my brain keeps coming back to.
Anyway…
Would you find such a thing helpful? If so, please reply and let me know.
I’d appreciate hearing what you’d like included. And what format(s) you prefer. e.g. video, audio, written, a mixture… Chris dressed as tapdancing chicken while presenting.
Email me with your thoughts. Even if you think it’s a silly idea. And maybe you already know of another option out there.
And if there’s anything else you’d appreciate me putting together into a short course — I’m all ears.
Have a great day folks. I’m off to, ahh… perfect my tap routine.
Chris “tap — cluck — tap — cluck” Milham
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Chris Milham