“Stop complicating the sh*t out of everything,” he said, matter-of-factly.
Not for the first time, my brother’s simple logic nudged me in the butt.
It left a bruise.
See, I have this thing.
There’s a good chance you have it too.
It’s a nasty little mind-virus. It can steal your energy, rob you of your courage and cause low-grade depression.
Perfectionism is its name.
It is b.r.u.t.a.l.
I meet countless women who unwittingly prevent themselves from losing weight (or living a happy life) because of this need to “do it perfectly”.
For example, when a perfectionist has one biscuit, the mind-virus screams,
“You’ve totally blown it now, you may as well scoff the entire packet… eat everything in the pantry, why don’t you….you’re no longer perfect, right?”
Perfectionists tend to overanalyse, second-guess and complicate everything, which results in them forgetting to do the very thing they need to do to lose weight…
…..as in, DO something.
If you’re a perfectionist, you know the heavy truth. Another year passes. You’re still overweight.
It gives me great pleasure to share with you ….recovery is possible.
“My name is Avril, I’m a recovering perfectionist…. hello everyone.”
That’s the first step: awareness. Until you acknowledge a behaviour – and it is something you are doing – you can’t treat it.
When you’re aware of the sneaky mind-virus you can start treatment.
Prescription for Little Miss Perfects
Replace perfectionism with imperfectionism. That’s it…become a Little Miss Imperfect and make progress – not perfection – your new target. It’ll set you free.
“How can something as simple as focusing on progress make a difference?” says the (former) perfectionist in you.
See.
There you go complicating the sh*t out of everything, again.
Stop it, sister!!!
Remember your new focus is progress (not perfection).
Progress is tangible. It’s about taking action (however much you stumble). It means always looking for the next stretch or improvement. It’s about moving closer to your target one step at a time.
6 unexpected benefits of embracing imperfection
– You finally see your inner critic for what it is…. your very own Success Prevention Expert. Ouch.
– You lower the bar. You start to live in the moment, without any judgement. Fun, freedom and joy is allowed and you actually end up doing a fabulous job. How ironic.
– You focus your attention on the process itself. You quit obsessing about the outcome. Paradoxically, you increase your chance of success because you stay in the game.
– You get things done imperfectly. You tweak and fix and repeat. You become unstoppable.
– You finally understand there are no mistakes. Feedback is what it’s all about, baby.
– Yes, you do master your craft. You do achieve your weight goals. Because you gave yourself room to practice, you’re learning and growing, and you’re still taking action.
You’re moving closer to your weight goal because you aren’t over-complicating the sh*t out of everything. Step by imperfect step.
Imperfect love, etc, Avril
PS: If you’re a perfectionist and you’re ready to embrace the slimmer, fitter, healthier you – hypnotherapy might be exactly what you’ve been looking for. Why not drop me (an imperfect) line over here….c’mon over.
