I recently heard some words that have challenged me in a new way. Ultimately, these words are why this blog is happening right now. What are the words that had such an impact? They were simple, “Done is better than perfect.” I pondered these words and realized that I was holding myself back by my own, very high, expectations of myself.
It is not wrong to have dreams, or to seek perfection, but it is wrong to allow it to hold you back and paralyze you. I am beginning this blogging journey because of my dream. I am also very aware that I will make mistakes along the way, and that is okay. The hope is that we will be able to help each other along the journey.
Don’t hold back.
My question for you is this, Are you allowing high expectations or perfectionism to hold you back? In what area does this affect you? For a long time, I would only cook meals that I was familiar with because I knew they would work well. It took me a while, but I did begin experimenting, and I have found great success in my experiments!
Enough success that one of my many projects is writing a cookbook. I will have more on that to share soon!! I love that I have learned how to make an unhealthy recipe healthy, a gluten-full meal gluten-free, and family classics in a new way that everyone loves. It is currently a work in progress, a project underneath a few others that I have going on.
My challenge for myself right now is to do the thing that is in front of me, to the best of my ability, and then to let it be. If I want to, I can come back and fix it, or change it as desired, later. This has been life changing progress for me, and I have been blessed. I pray that this will be your experience also.
This past month, I have been putting this into practice daily. As a result, I have been completing multiple things that have been on my ‘to do’ list for years. Photobooks from 2018 anyone?? It feels really, really good. It is also in line with my ‘word of the year’ that the Lord gave me this year.
I have also finished a bench that I started a couple of years ago, hook racks that were needed in the house, and I have been working on a number of things for our house… refinishing doors, reclaiming wood, sanding window frames, etc. I have been working to find a balance between physical projects and sit-down projects. This is working for me.
I want to encourage you in this. It takes time. The process begins by really thinking about what you want to accomplish, and then listing the steps required to complete the project. For many of my projects, there were some obstacles that I needed to overcome in order to complete the project.
My health also was holding me back in a pretty major way, and I had a great deal of fear built up after years of crashes with my health. In 2021, my word of the year was ‘Overcome’. In 2022, it was ‘Finish.’ I took the time to really examine not only my goals, but also the obstacles that frequently got in the way of my goals. In 2023, I was diagnosed with cancer and this has been a major setback for me in every area of life.
Getting Practical
Step one is to sit down and make some lists. I love lists and words, so this works well for me. I recently read that of the people who make and set goals, only 3% of them are written down. That seems incredibly small to me! Writing things down is one way to work towards actually getting things done.
Step two is to be consistent in doing something to work towards your goal every single day. Do not underestimate what you can accomplish with small actions every day. I believe that the law of motion applies to us here, “an object in motion tends to stay in motion.”
Step three is to overcome the obstacles. Whatever it is that is holding you back. For me, there was some super simple things to overcome. For example, I needed a different chair to sit in at my computer! I would dread my computer projects simply because the chair would make my body hurt! There is also a large element in healing your nervous system and doing the inner work so that you are able to show up as your best self.
Step four is to enjoy the process. I love projects, and I am a dreamer. I am always coming up with more projects, but the fun disappears if you never complete the projects. The joy multiplies when you finish one project and get to move on to the next. This balance between physically active projects and mentally active projects has also been a beautiful thing for me! Let me help you find your beautiful balance!
~Alicia