Do you think there’s a right way to do some things? And that all the other options are the wrong way? That thinking might be holding you back. This week Shannon and Janine discuss how moving away from the right-way or wrong-way thinking can help you let go of perfectionism. It’s liberating!
Discussion topics include:
- How right-way thinking fuels perfectionism
- That the more we can get away from thinking about right and wrong the easier it will be to let go of the perfectionistic ideals that hold us back
- How equating right with perfect is a recipe for disaster
- The many options for what could be considered right
- How a belief in the myth of right can stop you from adapting and adjusting the way you do things
- Janine’s epiphany about how her right-way thinking was getting in the way of planning her genealogy research trip
- How easy it is to not do something because you feel you can’t do it the right way
- That knowing what’s important to you will help you choose among all the possible right ways to do something
- Shannon’s non-traditional wedding and the simple criteria she used for her many choices
- How Mike (Shannon’s husband) nailed the decision on what color to paint their house without worrying about the right way to do it
- How releasing yourself from the notion of having to get something right is a huge step to letting go of perfectionism
- The value of recognizing that there are many ways to get where you want to go
Here’s a photo of Shannon, Mike and Janine at Shannon & Mike’s wedding. What color would you call Shannon’s dress?
I do struggle with thinking that things have to be “right.” I think it is my arrogance showing when I think (but never say!) “my way or the highway.” I have to remember that there is more than one way to skin a cat (what a horrible saying!) and that there are many ways to attack the same task. So long as you get to good enough in the end, choose the path where you “let it be easy.”