Thursday, November 27, 2014

Letting go of the perfection trap


For several months now I have been talking about doing webinars. I even invested in software to do it, and read the manual which in itself is a feat as I don't usually "do" manuals.

But have I delivered a webinar yet?  Eh, no.  So what is holding me back?  I could say that all things technical intimidate me, and while that would be true, if I dig deep, it is more than that.

I want to have all my ducks in a row.  I want to make it failure-proof.  In other words, it needs to be perfect before I take this leap of faith and put myself out there. I know I am not alone in this need to have everything just so, and I have to remind myself it is just a one- hour webinar, not a death-defying exercise.

I am often the person encouraging others to take risks, to step out of their comfort zone and move forward.  "Make the mistakes," I say, "you will learn from the experience." Perhaps it is time I took my own advice. Perhaps I need to give myself the benefit of the doubt, and got out of my own way and just do it.

At our recent retreat, I had the women set goals for themselves for the next two months, and assign a deadline by which time it will be done.  So when I mentioned the webinar idea, just in passing I might add, the entire group pounced on it, and in unison asked me when I hoped to achieve this goal?

We all laughed because they had nailed me.  But it also served to show that no matter how confident we may be or appear to be on the outside, there is often that little voice inside chiding you for your ambitions.  "Like, who does she think she is?"

What would I say to someone else? "Just take baby steps in getting towards your goal, so that by the time you have to do it, the whole activity no longer seems so threatening.  You are running the show, you know what you have to do, and yes, it may not go to plan, but think of that sense of accomplishment when it's done.  Let go of perfect."  

Wise words, i should listen to myself more often. So ... I have unpacked and dusted off the gear that I need, got my slides ready, and asked for help (another hard piece) in working out the technology.

Will I achieve my goal by the time assigned? Realistically, probably not, but that's OK too, because I am taking those baby steps to make it happen.  You see I have this great coach, I just need to listen to her more often:)

As Elizabeth Gilbert said in a recent interview, "imperfection never stopped men from putting themselves forward, so don't let it stop you."

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