Embracing Imperfection to Propel Your Progress
“If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing….” (wrong/half hearted/imperfectly). I’m increasingly convinced this is the secret to getting anything done at all. Hear me out.
How many times have you not started something because you didn’t have time to do it “right”? How many times have you put off a project because you didn’t want to start something you couldn’t finish? How many times did you delay working on something because you weren’t motivated and decided you’d wait till another day when you had more energy or drive?
I’m guilty of every single one of those scenarios, but I’ve been experimenting with a few different strategies.
The first is being willing to do something badly. As a recovering people pleaser and perfectionist this one is HARD. I feel embarrassed and sometimes physically uncomfortable when I put something out there I think could have been better. But the truth is so often I put out NOTHING instead of something imperfect. And nothing helps no one, while my really imperfect stuff is usually appreciated or helpful to at least a handful of people.
“Done is better than not done.” That mantra got me through grad school and has helped me develop habits of communication with parents, plan activities for the children and families, and other measurable actions that have improved my business one step at a time.
Second – I tell myself “you can do anything for 20 minutes”. And really I can. Even if I’m feeling tired, lazy, or otherwise unmotivated – 20 minutes is almost always doable. And if I end at 20 minutes – I’ve made some progress, but more often than not I end up creating the motivation I didn’t feel by just getting started. Action creates momentum and motivation.
Finally – I remind myself “You are doing better than you think you are”. It might seem silly but this little bit of cheering myself on can be really powerful. It’s easy to really believe that our efforts are not enough – so why try? But if we just do what we can do – that is usually plenty.
I was at my parents tonight and played a game of Qwirkle with my kids. In the game you build on a board full of patterns and earn anywhere from 2-12 + points. My first turn came up and I was feeling sort of bummed that I could only come up with something that was 5 points. But drawing on these ideas I outlined above – I figure it was better than nothing.
I watched my daughter go through two rounds getting 0 points by using her turn to swap out her tiles instead of build anything. We later realized she could have been scoring points all along, but didn’t want to waste a turn on something that wasn’t a great play. I bet you aren’t shocked to learn that I won the whole thing, not by any huge dramatic moves, but by simply by showing up with mostly 5 point turns.
So if you are struggling to show up how you want maybe try on a few of these ideas. Focus on showing up for the very basic 5 point turn, completing something half-heartedly, or taking a small 20 minute chunk out of a huge project.
And remember – you really are doing better than you think you are!
Kristy DeGraaf
