Can striving for perfection kill you?
Okay, seriously most likely not in a literal sense. But it can cause you to freeze up and not pursue your goals.
It’s just over the mid-way point for January 201o and I’ve already fallen short on my blogging goals (as well as commenting on other people’s blogs).
I wrote out my 2010 Goals for Your Virtual Assistant on January 7th and shared with my readers that I was going to blog 6 days per week. Now here it is January 18th and I’m already supposed to be off the computer for the night. This means I have missed 8 posts I had committed to writing.
I had an interesting chat with a friend on Twitter this past week about striving for perfection. In an attempt to deliver perfectly executed subject matter on specific days of the week to my readers I have literally stopped myself in my tracks. Suddenly I realize I don’t want to box myself into what I am blogging about on a specific day.
But what are goals really? By no means are they an “end” but rather a journey. Perhaps I was too rigid for my personality in what I will blog about on specific days. If I don’t blog daily who do I disappoint? Myself? My readers? Both?
As my wise friend @JosephRanseth said to me recently when I was belaboring my perfectionist tendencies: “Better to have imperfect action than no action at all”
Tonight I stopped by Dave Doolin’s aka Dr. WordPress Website in a Weekend site and read his post on “When B.L.O.G. turns into J.O.B.” and could totally have written that same post myself. Reading through the comments that others left on his post I was encouraged by Valentina from Blog Income Life’s words in her comment to Dave: “passion like the ocean has its ebbs and tides but it is still an ocean and it is powerful”
I haven’t lost my passion so if I go “quiet” for a bit….it’s only because I am Rediscovering. Re-evaluating. Refining. And as always applying new things I am learning.
Do you find that striving for perfection has the ability to stop you in your tracks?
What do you do to energize and motivate yourself to continue your action plan?
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Oh Michelle, you get that from being a mom you know. The whole “get it right the first time so you don’t have to do it again” thing with lofty goals. I think we all battle that just trying to get it all done. You’re doing great, though. I think it’s the steady progress that matters more than anything. That way you’ve got a firm foundation that you can build on while you grow. I see you got your newsletter up – yay! I signed up.
I think blogging everyday while blogging and writing for your clients is just too much for me. My goal is 2-3 times a week, and I’m not opposed to slowing that down to 1-2 times, either.
Susan Hamilton´s last blog ..Hope For The Small Business Press Release
Susan – I almost hate to admit in my comments that I haven’t done a newsletter since November! All of the sudden I just seem to have hit a wall with the really high goals I set for myself this year. I have to sit down and revise them…..that I have already figured out.
And I think you are right…def comes from being a mom and probably part of my childhood upbringing. I heard “do it right the first time” way too many times as a child and it’s deeply seated in my beliefs now.
Okay, I hope to not disappoint when I send out a newsletter soon!
Twitter: websiteweekend
February 3, 2010 at 9:50 pm
My goodness. I pop up to get a little air and find this pearl of a post.
Thanks, Michelle, really appreciate the mention.
Dave Doolin´s last blog ..Your First AWeber Autoresponder Followup Series
Aw, Dave – you are always so kind! I am glad you found it to be a pearl in your reading!
Twitter: cjbowker
February 7, 2010 at 1:54 pm
I have the same problem. For my personal blog I just right when I feel like it and I right about what I feel like. Whatever is on my mind. My other blog I have struggled a lot with feeling I need to right a great post and I find myself with writer’s block. What should I write about? That doesn’t sound right or I don’t like that. Then I end up with nothing. No post goes up and I feel even worse and press harder to get a good post. I haven’t figured it out but I try to relax and just write when I write. I carve some time out to write and comment but you can force the good content.
CJ Bowker´s last blog ..A Little Extra
CJ – I have so much I want to write about – I think my greatest challenge is just carving out the time to actually do it!