Letting go of Perfectionism...

Has there ever been moment when in your life that you realized you spent so much time thinking about an idea or something you wanted to do….. but never actually did it? Yeah? Me too. I used to always talk about what I was going to do whether it was start a business or start a diet, but I really never executed on it…… or I would think about how I would need to be ready or what all I would need to do before I could launch the business or start the diet.

Then somewhere along my obsession for podcasts and books that has developed even more in the last 5 years I came to the realization from my favorite podcast The Skinny Confidential that I either needed to rip the band aid off and do something, or just shut up because talking and thinking about doing something really wasn’t getting me anywhere.

I never realized how much I was holding myself back by always trying to make things perfect. I would tell myself I’ll start my diet on Monday, but first I have to eat XYZ (Monday’s were always pushed back to a different Monday) or I would say I need learn all of these things before I can start my business or launch my website or whatever business venture I was dreaming of. I have had to accept there is no “perfect” and I will never feel completely ready when it comes to something new and potentially scary.

This blog is a great example of the first thing I actually executed on that I kept saying I was going to do. I spent the better part of 6 months researching how to start a blog, listening to what everyone else did, what platforms they used… then I took advice I heard from an extremely successful blogger and the hosting site they used, and didn’t get anything done because I am not a tech wizard and I don’t know how to code.

If I wouldn’t have been trying to be perfect or the best, I would’ve had a blog almost a year sooner without wasting $250. I had this idea in my head that when I launched a blog it would have to be so extravagant and perfect for my readers. Then one day, it kind of just hit me. I was never going to be perfect, but putting something out there at least gave me a starting point to grow. That’s when I decided to use a hosting site I could actually use without help, and to just jump off the deep end. I put it on social media to my 900 followers at the time that I was launching a blog February 1st. I had no content, I had never taken photos other than my senior photos, all I had was an idea, and a site I could finally run. Letting go of trying to be perfect, allowed me to launch my blog, adjust, and figure it out as I go.

I now call this blind optimism.

This blog was just the first step I took in letting go of my perfectionism. After realizing that I could grow once something was established I started to realize what I am truly capable of. I launched a business, and it changes daily. I joined organizations, I put my ideas out there, and I stopped obsessing over dumb shit. Sure, branding matters, but not launching is wayyyyy worse than using the wrong shade of pink in my color scheme.

I hope that if you have been thinking of something you want to do, you stop thinking and start doing. Sure, it most likely won’t be easy but you won’t ever know what you’re truly capable if you don’t put yourself out there. If there is any way I can support you, please reach out.

Thank you for reading as always.

XO,

Madison