Recently, the writings of Brene’ Brown have been some of my favorites. I wish when I was a kid that I could have tapped into her wisdom about the “gifts of imperfection.” I always drove for perfection in areas that I thought important (though to the dismay of my parents – school work was not one of those areas…). The difficulty I still struggle with is how to move past the unhealthy drive to be perfect while continuing to push onward with healthy attempts to improve. How do you push for improvement without slipping into perfectionism? For me – one of the best ways to do this is to talk about it….something that a private person such as me finds very difficult…but absolutely critical. One of my goals in this next year is to keep the gremlins at bay (Brown’s term for the voices in our heads that tell us we’re not enough…in my case – not working hard enough…or getting enough done…). I hope to relax more, and enjoy the moments in each and every day without feeling the anxiety of not accomplishing enough. And when I do feel the gremlins creeping into my thoughts…talk about them…at least to myself…
Todd Rivetti 