I wasn’t sure if I would make it, or what would come of it, or how it would go, but I knew I wanted to do it. Some days were easier than others, but I did it and learned some lessons along the day.
Done is better than perfect. As a perfectionist, this was really hard for me. I wanted to make sure every post told a story, had value, had the right grammar and punctuation, etc. But the thing about wanting something to be perfect is that it never really quite is perfect because there’s always more to be done, especially when you’re as critical about yourself as I am. When you’re always giving something your best effort, every single time, you get drained and then you end up not wanting to do it. Yes, give things your all, but don’t burn out. Pick and choose what gets your energy and how much. While perfect can be a good goal from time to time, but sometimes just getting things done is sufficient. And that’s okay.
Give yourself permission and space. It can be incredibly motivating. When you remove expectation from a scenario, and not just expectation for others but for yourself, immediately this burden is lifted and you’re more free. There were days where I told myself that it was okay for me to not write. By removing that expectation, I found that I ended up writing anyways but I didn’t feel as stressed out about it. It also made me reflect on what I was trying to accomplish in the first place. Applying this to other parts of my life will undoubtedly lift some self-imposed anxiety and bring me more joy and freedom to enjoy how I spend my time, and be more okay with failing. With permission and space comes great freedom.
Remember the why. This goes hand in hand with the first two lessons: whenever you’re making a decision, whether it’s to hit the publish button or to do something, or not do something, go back to the why. Why am I doing this? What did I set out to do? And that why doesn’t always have a deep meaningful meaning. Sometimes the why can be, “Because I want to” or “Because I feel like it”.
30 days of blogging: check. Here’s what I came up with. If you have any feedback for me, good and bad, please share away. The only way I can improve or keep doing a good job is with feedback.
- 30 Days, 30 Posts: Day 1 of NaBloPoMo
- My Relationship with My Yoga Mat
- My Bucket List
- Chasing Mountain Tops
- Easy Like a Sunday Morning
- Gratefully Grounded
- 5 Minutes
- Taking Steps Towards Political Change
- Can People Change
- Travel Goals
- An Insufficient Thank You
- “Can We Talk?”
- Reigniting My Love for Reading
- Spreading the Joy of Snail Mail
- Win or Learn
- You Are A Badass
- Cleaning Up
- Your Board of Directors
- How Questions Strengthen Relationships
- Life Lessons in Aisle 9
- This Year, Ruin Thanksgiving
- Grateful For…
- Happy Thanksgiving
- When Did You Become a Reader?
- My Advice to Parents
- Thankful for New Beginnings
- 30 Day Challenges
- My Friend’s Parents
- Two Types of Work Days
- This post.
