Live Free

Perfection is not the goal, practicality is

October 5, 2015

POST: 7 books that changed my life

QUIZ: Is your brain optimised for success?

You'll also love

tell me more

Hi, I'm Laura — Training Neuroscientist, ICF accredited Coach and here to give you the science to help you succeed in business and life

Meet Laura

I’ve been thinking about what a dear friend of mine said to me this weekend:

 

“Perfection is not the goal, practicality is”.

 

This really resonated with me because shouldn’t we all be striving for perfection?

 

I mean, I’ve spent my entire life looking for perfection. Whether that was in my exam results, my training or even in my husband (note this is a fast track to divorce).

 

Hell, I’m even looking for it in my 5-month-old puppy and get upset if he doesn’t obey my desperate plea for him to heel (note this is a fast track to the wine cellar!).

 

But what if you were to give up your stranglehold on perfection? What if you were to live looking for what you could practically do rather than the perfectly impossible?

 

How much freedom would that bring into your life?

 

Because, have you noticed how chasing perfection often leads to inaction. If you can’t do something perfectly, you won’t do it at all.

 

How many times have you fallen off the diet wagon completely because you had one slice of cake? Or given up on a healthy lifestyle altogether because you chose a cappuccino over a green smoothie?

 

The need to be perfect brings massive pressures with it. You berate yourself if you don’t meet your exacting standards. You belittle your achievements if they are not 100% impeccable.

 

This makes it hard to implement change in your life because how can you be perfect if you’re just starting out?

 

A barrier to change which comes up time and time again is the fear of not being good enough. But if you’re aiming for perfection, how will you ever be good enough?

 

Waiting to start doing something until you can be perfect at it means you’re unlikely to ever actually start.

 

But not aiming for perfection means you suddenly become free to try out new things because you realise it’s ok to make mistakes.

 

In fact, you only really know you’re pushing the boundaries when you do make mistakes.

 

Doing what you can practically do means that you can start today working towards your ideal life. Because you can start implementing small changes a bit at a time.

 

You don’t need to wait until everything is in place and the planets are aligned before you come flying out into your new, perfect, shiny world.

 

You can just do one thing.

 

And be OK if that one thing doesn’t go perfectly well. Because then you can try one other thing. And then one more. And the more you take little, practical steps, the closer you get to the big, perfect life.

 

One step at a time.

 

You don’t need to wait to have all the fancy running gear, the latest gadgets and a sub 7 minute mile to sign up for a marathon.

 

It’s not necessary to have a first class art degree to start that painting class you’ve had your eye on.

 

And you certainly don’t need to be the expert in your field to start up your own business.

 

You just need to start.

 

So I’m going to let myself off this week. I’m going to give myself a week of looking into what is practical for me to achieve and not what would be perfect.

 

Because honestly, it would be nice to give myself a break.

 

So what could you do if you allowed yourself the same? What could you start?

 

I’d love to hear what changes you would implement if you gave up the need for perfection. Drop me a message below to let me know!

 

Much love
Laura
x