Hi Cyrene. I, for one, am so grateful that you did show up as your imperfect self here.
I would disagree that there is no takeaway message from this piece though. I'm taking away A LOT. You've helped me to identify that perfectionism has been sneaking up on me a lot more than I've realised recently. Your words are encouraging me to notice that I've been having an idea and then talking myself out of it pretty swiftly! Lots for me to reflect on thanks to your invitation and honesty here.
Soo glad to hear that you've been painting as well and how much of an outlet this is for you. This is such a self compassionate thing for you to gift yourself. Take care and I hope this is a gentle and creative week for you x
Hi Janelle! Thank you so much for all of this. It brings me a lot of joy to know you took so much from this piece! 🥹 I hope these reflections can kickstart a whole new journey of ridding yourself of perfectionism xx
The idea that if we can't do something regularly, we shouldn't do it at all is something I'd never considered before, but is definitely something I struggle with. I have a lot of hobbies and very limited energy, which means I usually use any spare energy on the same hobbies when I feel able to do something, even if I'd rather do something else. Admittedly part of this is a lot of my craft stuff is boxed up from when I moved, waiting to be sorted and organised, so when I want to do a specific thing that I don't already have handy it is tempting to 'wait till everything is sorted', which is unlikely to ever happen. Now, if I want to do a certain hobby that is packed away, I start organising/sorting the boxes instead (if I'm physically able to). Obviously it's not as enjoyable as doing the craft, but it means I'm no longer waiting for a mythical future where I've had enough energy and motivation to actually sort everything, but taking a tiny step towards it being ready for the future.
There is also the temptation to do what we 'should' do, over what we want to do, especially when we have limited energy/time. I love baking and cooking, but often if I have the energy to plan and do it I usually choose cooking now because it's healthier, because I can only do it so rarely. That's fine, but sometimes I want to bake, and I shouldn't let myself feel guilty for baking instead of cooking (because the guilt is coming from me, no one else). This can go for how we spend our energy/time in general, doing what we think we should be doing, instead of making space for what we want to do, things that will bring us joy. Life becomes a lot less bearable when we don't allow ourselves to do things that bring us joy, even if only sometimes.
I love rambly comments! Thank you for sharing your thoughts :). It's such a sneaky thought isn't it, I didn't realise I was imposing that on myself until recently either. The whole "waiting until everything is sorted" is another one!
That's why acceptance is so powerful because then we're not waiting for that mythical future. I'm so pleased you take those steps when you're able to.
And there are so many "shoulds" imposed by ourselves and society that, once we're rid of, it does make life a bit better. Even a few minutes of those things we enjoy can make a difference as we've both discovered.
You say "rambly mess" I say another stunning piece of writing that really resonated and that I am taking something away from - that snippet from your instagram post is something I really need to take in and remember!
Hi Cyrene. I, for one, am so grateful that you did show up as your imperfect self here.
I would disagree that there is no takeaway message from this piece though. I'm taking away A LOT. You've helped me to identify that perfectionism has been sneaking up on me a lot more than I've realised recently. Your words are encouraging me to notice that I've been having an idea and then talking myself out of it pretty swiftly! Lots for me to reflect on thanks to your invitation and honesty here.
Soo glad to hear that you've been painting as well and how much of an outlet this is for you. This is such a self compassionate thing for you to gift yourself. Take care and I hope this is a gentle and creative week for you x
Hi Janelle! Thank you so much for all of this. It brings me a lot of joy to know you took so much from this piece! 🥹 I hope these reflections can kickstart a whole new journey of ridding yourself of perfectionism xx
Okay, this comment got a little rambly.
The idea that if we can't do something regularly, we shouldn't do it at all is something I'd never considered before, but is definitely something I struggle with. I have a lot of hobbies and very limited energy, which means I usually use any spare energy on the same hobbies when I feel able to do something, even if I'd rather do something else. Admittedly part of this is a lot of my craft stuff is boxed up from when I moved, waiting to be sorted and organised, so when I want to do a specific thing that I don't already have handy it is tempting to 'wait till everything is sorted', which is unlikely to ever happen. Now, if I want to do a certain hobby that is packed away, I start organising/sorting the boxes instead (if I'm physically able to). Obviously it's not as enjoyable as doing the craft, but it means I'm no longer waiting for a mythical future where I've had enough energy and motivation to actually sort everything, but taking a tiny step towards it being ready for the future.
There is also the temptation to do what we 'should' do, over what we want to do, especially when we have limited energy/time. I love baking and cooking, but often if I have the energy to plan and do it I usually choose cooking now because it's healthier, because I can only do it so rarely. That's fine, but sometimes I want to bake, and I shouldn't let myself feel guilty for baking instead of cooking (because the guilt is coming from me, no one else). This can go for how we spend our energy/time in general, doing what we think we should be doing, instead of making space for what we want to do, things that will bring us joy. Life becomes a lot less bearable when we don't allow ourselves to do things that bring us joy, even if only sometimes.
I love rambly comments! Thank you for sharing your thoughts :). It's such a sneaky thought isn't it, I didn't realise I was imposing that on myself until recently either. The whole "waiting until everything is sorted" is another one!
That's why acceptance is so powerful because then we're not waiting for that mythical future. I'm so pleased you take those steps when you're able to.
And there are so many "shoulds" imposed by ourselves and society that, once we're rid of, it does make life a bit better. Even a few minutes of those things we enjoy can make a difference as we've both discovered.
Thank you for this thoughtful comment, Tamara xx
You say "rambly mess" I say another stunning piece of writing that really resonated and that I am taking something away from - that snippet from your instagram post is something I really need to take in and remember!
Oh Helen, thank you so much! It's wonderful to know this piece could help you in any way 🥰x