You don't have to be perfect.

One of the huge take-away messages I got from a recent business seminar I attended was that in business and in life, imperfect action is better than no action at all. Sometimes we can get so caught up in trying to be perfect, that it can paralyze us from taking action. The fear of making mistakes is often rooted in a deep-seated fear that you can never be good enough. A friend of mine recently shared with me a quote by Sophia Loren, "Mistakes are the dues one pays for living a full life." I love this quote. When you allow yourself the freedom to take risks and make mistakes, you open yourself up to so many wonderful possibilities and new experiences. Rather than beating yourself up or second-guessing yourself, try to understand how much learning can occur from making a mistake. Mistakes are often necessary to help us see the truth more clearly. The following tips should help.

1) Take responsibility. When you are first confronted with a mistake you've made or a really painful experience, it is natural to feel a sense of "why me?" or to look for someone to blame. Do not beat yourself up for feeling this way, but try to move out of the victim mentality as quickly as possible. It is so much easier to blame someone else for our difficulties, but when we do this we make ourselves small and powerless. Recognize that the only person you can change is yourself. No matter how hopeless your current situation feels, trust that you have the power to make positive changes. If you really feel stuck, seek out the help of a talented professional who can help you look at your life from an objective place (which is so hard for our families & friends to do). Their insights and recommendations can help you see a world of possibilities and changes you can make that you would have been unable to discover on your own.

2) Forgive yourself. Let go of the guilt and refuse to waste time and energy filled with regret or beating yourself up. So you made a mistake, allow yourself to be okay with being imperfect just like everyone else. When you acknowledge your imperfections (without criticizing yourself or talking about yourself in a negative way), you allow yourself to learn from your mistakes in a compassionate way and move forward with greater awareness. Compassion regarding yourself and awareness regarding your motives are key to changing dysfunctional behaviors and beliefs that keep you from living the life you want.

3) Take action with your newfound awareness. Maya Angelou has a beautiful quote, "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better. " There are so many stages of awareness. Part of my own personal growth, and what I now teach others, has been learning to become aware of negative beliefs and behaviors that are so ingrained in us that we are not even aware of them. We all have blind spots when it comes to our own behaviors and motives. Working with someone who can help you see your blind spots and bring you to a new level of awareness is life changing. Once you become aware of self-defeating behaviors or old, untrue beliefs you have about yourself, you can release them and embrace the beauty and truth of the life you were meant to live.


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