I hear it all the time. “But Loral, I’m not ready. I’m waiting for the perfect time, place, situation… ” Fill in desired perfect thing here. The problem with perfect is it doesn’t exist! Pursuing perfect is a really good way to miss out on some great opportunities, mess with your head and generally put your life and business on hold. Really, I can hear the hold music now. Wouldn’t you rather be making something happen instead of waiting for perfection?
By pursuing perfect, we deny ourselves and the world of our gifts. We do this because:
We don’t want to be wrong.
If you are going to do great things in life, you WILL be wrong sometimes. It happens. Don’t fear it. Embrace it, learn from it and move on. Real dialogue gets going when you don’t CARE if you are wrong. Source your confidence and certainty and, if you do received criticism or are found to be wrong, accept it. It’s going to happen. Not a matter of if… it’s when. So striving for being perfectly right all the time is the perfectly wrong thing to do.
We are afraid to look stupid.
There are times when you will look stupid. Spend any amount of time with a child and you will discover how quickly that kid will call you out about something. Kids’ honesty is refreshing, but it can also be eye-opening. When you do look stupid, just shake it off. Use your sense of humor and make a joke or laugh it off.
We can’t stand the thought of falling.
When you can’t stand the thought of falling, of failing and hurting yourself a little, you fail in the biggest way possible. You fail to take risks. Not taking a risk is the biggest risk of all. By not chancing anything because you are afraid of falling, you are killing your chance of experiencing anything new. Never limit yourself and you will be amazed by what you can do!
