This blog is imperfect…
I’ve been putting this off. I set a lofty goal for myself this year: One blog per week in 2021. I have a scribbled whiteboard of undeveloped ideas. Things that people who run small businesses struggle with and might need help fixing. But where to start? Where do I open? The turmoil of 2020 is not yet settled. The rules of business are liquid, sliding into new crevices and nooks and crannies of gray area each day. Some industries are thriving, and others are struggling still. Forget growth…survival is the goal. Do they have time to read a few helpful tips from a newly formed HR consultancy?
I participated in a conversation this morning that tackled the topic of perfectionism. Oh! That’s what I’m doing…again. I’m not starting work because whatever I write will not be perfect. I can’t serve each and every potential client with perfect solutions, so I’ll wait. Wait for things to be more settled? Wait for a more universal understanding of “the right way to do things”? I imagine there are other entrepreneurs who are waiting for something to settle to make a decision. Other small business owners that have a picture of the perfect outcome, or a new offering that gives them more relevance, yet they cannot make a move because the time isn’t right, they can’t commit to doing it right so it will wait, right?
When was the last time things were really settled?
We put a lot of shade on 2020 for being this vile upheaval (and it was) but I don’t really remember being settled before the mess of last year existed. There was always something to improve, some way to grow, a new thing to learn, that thing to let go of…you know: imperfection. The moderator of this morning’s conversation read a passage from a book that hit on all of the things we know about perfectionism: It limits us, limits creativity, keeps people from finishing something, keeps people from starting something. It is an impossible achievement, perfection. It does not exist and yet we wear it as a badge of honor…our standards are so high, our attention to detail so acute, that the work we do is superior, less flawed, and more valuable…except it isn’t, because perfection alludes us.
My career started out aggressively positive. I worked hard and grew quickly. I was promoted time and time again and recognized for my efforts. I asked for the next thing always. But with each promotion, came more responsibility, more challenges, more volume of work and I found it harder and harder to be a rock star at each and every task. Things slipped. I focused too much attention and took too much time on things that others were not as invested in. I once had a boss tell me, “It doesn’t need to be perfect, Kate…it just needs to be done.” Ooof. She was right. And she saved me a little from the crippling perfectionism I had put on myself and that other people’s encouragement had pushed me to strive for. That feeling of being a “rock star” at what I do. And now that I’ve added wife and motherhood to my resume, I can assure you, that feeling alludes me now more than ever. And I think this morning’s conversation was a little wink (and thunk on the back of the head) from the universe, saying to me, “I see you…what you’re doing. Cut that out, that’s enough.”
So, for my first blog post of 2021, I will focus on Enough.
I will not promise that every week will deliver some perfect advice or solution to the struggles you’re facing, but I will work very hard to be consistent, and offer useful tips on doing good things in your business, I’ll share tough lessons that have made me smarter, and a little humor to chew on (must find the funny). I will share truths and stay authentic to my voice and hope that this feeds you. Let’s be honest, I might not even meet my goal of a blog post a week, but I will hope to satiate you.
I will say “that’s enough” to things that do not serve me well and I will encourage you to do the same. Half the battle is being aware of when to stop doing something, and admitting it isn’t working, or turning away from yourself, or your path because of the naysayers, or the inner critic that nags at you, pecking at your insecurities. Let’s say enough to that.
And I’ll do myself a kindness and remind myself that I am enough. And that’s all that I can be. And that enough is absolutely perfect.