“CAN YOU REMEMBER WHO YOU WERE, BEFORE THE WORLD TOLD YOU WHO YOU SHOULD BE?” -CHARLES BUKOWSKI
What drives you?
Is it love for yourself or your work or your dreams?
Or is it fear that if you don’t do everything perfectly, that if you don’t meet the needs and expectations of other people, then the world as you know it will fall apart and you’ll die hated and alone?
Real talk: The single greatest obstacle for women in realizing their full potential might not be the patriarchy, the glass ceiling, or motherhood and the mythical work-life balance…
It’s the pervasive belief that if we aren’t “perfect,” we aren’t okay.
DESPITE OUR FIERCE LOYALTY TO THE CAUSE, HERE’S WHAT PERFECTIONISM DOESN’T DO FOR US:
It doesn’t make us safer.
It doesn’t make us better partners, mothers, friends, or creators.
It doesn’t get us ahead.
It doesn’t make us happier.
It doesn’t make us less vulnerable.
HERE’S WHAT PERFECTIONISM DOES DO:
It makes us depressed and anxious.
It kills our sex drive.
It tramples our self-esteem.
It holds us back.
It tells the little girls around us that if they aren’t perfect, they aren’t okay.
When we put all our focus on trying to figure out where we stand with other people and how to be flawless, we divert precious energetic resources away from ourselves.
Perfection cuts off the oxygen to our intuition.
Albert Einstein called the intuition a “sacred gift.” That’s because our intuition is a super power.
It’s the thing that can make us feel safer; that can make us better partners, mothers, friends, and creators; that can get us ahead; that can make us happier; that can make us feel less vulnerable.
So what if, just for a day, you could put down this idea of who you think you need to be, and get to enjoy being who you really are?
What if you could be guided in a way that feels good, instead of by the constant needling of the bully that lives in your head?
What if the way to show up fully in the world isn’t by doing everything “right,” but by just showing up and being fully present?
Your greatest power lies in your ability to connect with the truth of who you really are.
You don’t have to worry about how to let go of being perfect. Just focus on how to be more present.
Presence is a powerful antidote to perfectionism.
Set aside time every day to be present with yourself, whether it’s making a cup of tea, taking a walk someplace green, or journaling.
Each of those moments invites your intuition to come out and be heard. Let her speak to you.
Let what drives you be your full heart and wild spirit, not the whips of someone else’s ideals.
Originally published at www.besteas.co