Embracing Imperfection: How to Break Free from the Perfectionist Trap

Dear Soul,

I never used to think I was a perfectionist. Until recently when I felt its energies repeatedly stop me in my tracks. Every time I went to step forward with a particular project, I would allow myself to be trapped by the same sticky thoughts of: 'Not yet... not now... wait til you're more ready.' All the hallowed whisperings of an inner perfectionist.

Whether we have perfectionistic tendencies or not, it's not the label that matters as much as the consequences of its energy in terms of the sabotaging ways it can keep us stuck in loops of inaction and indecisiveness, and prevent us from being willing to step forward into the limitless possibilities that lay ahead of us.

Imagine for a moment if a butterfly were a perfectionist. Imagine what that would look like...

The butterfly would nibble a hole in its cocoon and then peer out its freshly made opening and think to itself, 'Oh no, not today, I'm not ready to fly yet,' and then it would retreat back into the familiar comfort zone of its cocoon, wings tightly folded, only to whither and die in its safe space, never having experienced itself as being anything other than a caterpillar that dreamt of the possibility of flight but never dared to discover its wings.

Our perfectionist tendencies can cause us to hesitate, to be cautious, to wait until everything is 100% right so we can guarantee our success. And yet these same perfectionistic tendencies are what limit us as our fear of making a mistake, looking foolish, or getting something wrong stops us from being willing to take a risk and venture into the unknown.

As children, none of us ever learned how to walk by being a perfectionist. We all took the risk of failing and falling over as we learned how to coordinate our movements, strengthen our muscles and increase our sense of balance. Once we mastered these skills we then ventured further into the unknown as we learned how to hop and skip and jump and run.

So why, as adults, do we hold ourself back for fear of failure and being less than perfect?

• In what areas of your life might you currently be holding yourself back?

• What is it you're waiting for to make everything ready and right?

• What conditions are you placing on yourself or your situation that need to be met before you're willing to step forward and allow yourself to fly?

• What are you saying 'no' to at the moment because you're frightened you might not be enough?

How would your life be different if you were to take that next step and simply allow yourself to be as you currently are? Without caring about what others might think. Without worrying how you might look. Without needing to ensure everything will be 100% perfect before you step forward.

What if you were to simply recognise that you are in the process of learning how to fly, and that there's more within you that's waiting to unfold? More authenticity. More leadership. More creativity. More gifts. More inner powers. More qualities. More abilities.

It's in our stepping forward that we learn to fly.

What's one step you could take today to say 'To heck with perfectionism I'm going to allow myself to give it a go and see what happens!'

For me it's getting on with sharing more of my imperfections through articles like this. Spontaneous ramblings that might just resonate with one or two people like yourself to uplift you with the updraft of my wings :)

What about you? I'd love to hear from you.... and don't be shy... none of us are perfect, right !?! There's always more to be discovered as we allow ourself to shine.

With fierce love, radiant joy, heartfelt compassion, infinite curiosity, and unwavering truth,

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