Don’t try to be perfect, just be authentic!
what do I want to say with that? Well, how often do we scold ourselves for doing something wrong? I know that I have condemned myself for littering on more than one occasion. I remember I was booked to speak at a function and had somehow written the wrong date in my diary. Instead of 12 I had written 13. When I didn’t show up at the venue, the organizer obviously panicked and called. Fortunately, I was only 10 minutes away and I managed to get there and give my talk only 15 minutes late.
Still, I was so mad at myself for screwing it up, that almost every day for 6 months, I would replay the day in my head and relive it, telling myself how stupid I was. How cruel is that. I wouldn’t do that to anyone else, but I did it to myself. I finally got to a point where I needed to forgive myself and move on because this wasn’t doing me any good. Everyone makes mistakes, but repeating the mistake over and over in your head doesn’t help anyone.
Perfectionism can be a motivator and a curse. While it can lead some people to a certain degree of success, when the thin veil is crossed it becomes something that one can never achieve. Perfectionists will always push themselves to do more, to achieve more. They will always demand more of themselves and even when they do a great job, it will never be good enough.
Authenticity on the other hand means being genuine. I was really sorry that I got the dates of my talk wrong. Honestly, I had done my best and had spent hours preparing for it. That’s all anyone can ask for; that we do our best with what we have.
When I write, if I write with the intention of perfection, then I would probably have to stop writing because it would be too difficult. It would become a chore instead of something I love to do. The only thing I can ask of myself is that I am authentic and that I write with love.
If you, in your daily life, whether it’s your job, raising your family, serving others, or being creative, whatever, say, “I’m going to do the best I can today, and I’m going to do it from a place of love.” and authenticity.” So whatever you do, it becomes a greater force than you and has the potential to go further than you could and achieve much more than you could ever achieve and all because it comes from a place of love.
Remember this the next time you find yourself beating yourself up for not being good enough. Ask yourself, “Was I authentic and did the best I could?”
I’m pretty sure the answer is probably ‘YES’