Originally I had planned to write about the topic of perfectionism today in light of some of the recent internal dialogue I have been having on the subject after recently reading Brene Brown’s, I Thought It Was Just Me (But It’s Not). I have been someone who has struggled with some relatively serious maladaptive levels of perfectionism for probably my whole life. In her typical penetrating style, Brown’s insight on the topic was a bit deeper and more nuanced than the usual on the perils of perfectionism and it’s been something which I have kept coming back to over the past few weeks. But as I sat down several times to try to articulate ANYTHING about it, (drafting, deleting, and repeating), I began to realize maybe I am just not there yet. Although when I first read her theory on perfectionism as being a fear of shame or rejection at its root it seemed to strike me as likely true, but I’ve since then been vacillating in my acceptance of its validity. And especially since I have had several unforeseen work projects requiring more travel than time at home, I had had enough of the serious. And so I set out to write something a bit more lighthearted and perhaps witty. Maybe a funny story which wasn’t so heavy or practical.
Alas, my feelings of being overwhelmed and bit drained by the workload and travel schedule made it hard for me to do even that. It’s certainly not the case that there is nothing good going on, but I think that the stress of work and all the things that need to be done for the impending move back home has me a bit less cheery and creative than I usually would be. Back to draft, delete, repeat. Then I decided, maybe I wouldn’t write a second post for this week after all.
However, at the start of the year, I made it my resolution to write two new blog posts per week for all of 2018. It’s now halfway through October and I have indeed done just that so far. Admittedly, some of the content is far better than others, but I have been consistent and stuck to my commitment to myself. And then I realized, that this was in and of itself an opportunity to stretch myself beyond my perfectionistic tendencies and to practice letting good be good enough.
After all, I say that I believe that being consistent, not perfect, is what really does matter, even if I don’t feel like that all the time. In fact, one of my own “personal commandments” which I reminded myself of daily throughout my year long Happiness Project was that the habit of keeping a habit is more important than even the habit itself, because sticking with something protects and strengths that behavior. That’s continuing to show up to your workouts, even if you’re not necessarily feeling in the mood that day or legitimately can’t go 100%, but you still want to keep the habit of exercise . It could be slowing down to invest a little time to connect with someone even if you don’t have hours to spend together. It could be eating simply, but healthfully. And apparently, it could be sticking with your goal to write that second blog post for the week although it may not offer anything terribly profound!
So my challenge to myself (and perhaps any other perfectionists out there) is to remember that often, something is better than nothing. Consistent effort and practice yields more than perfectionistic all-or-nothing thinking. And with that, I have a very simple, but delicious source of healthy fats which can add a little pizazz to an otherwise plain meal – Whole30 Avocado Compound Butter.
Serves: 4
- Ghee/Clarified Butter, Refrigerated to Solid .25 cup (50 g) RECIPE HERE
- Avocado .5
- Zest of one Lime
- Maldron Sea Salt .5 TSP
- Put all ingredients into a blender or food processor and pulse until smooth, scraping down the sides if necessary.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.