Perfection you might think to be your ultimate goal. It can
ultimately inspire you to perform at high standards and level of
success.It is good to aspire to high standards. However it can also
be a debilitating trait that prevents people taking risks and
choosing to explore outside their boundaries and limitations. It can
also be the pressure that you put on others to do the same.
It can lead to procrastination as it keeps us living safe and small
lives,bound by the fear of making mistakes and the
disappointments of not getting things done.
If you find that you are always hard on yourself and continually
thinking “I should have” or “I should haven’t” done something
this or that!You may find you are putting undue pressure on
yourself by thinking only in black and white or continually
making yourself wrong.
Far better to start thinking about living in excellence and choosing
to expand our ideas on thinking and creating many different
solutions to the difficulty or challenge on our mind.You might
even come up with a new idea or a better idea not thought of
otherwise.
Rigid black and white thinking can contribute to feelings of not
being good enough or seeking approval instead of being
empowered by your own thinking process.
Children can be conditioned into this kind of thinking as they are
recipients of a parent/teachers displeasure as they strive to get
things right the first or second time ,or living in constraints of
getting it right first up, not leaving room for learning by the so
called mistakes.
Striving for “A”performance or not fitting a particular mould can
create feelings that anything less than that is sub-standard.
Is it safe to learn? Or can I dare explore further and do it in my
own time and way are options not considered.
Feelings of being paralysed and the fear of making mistakes
creates a high level of anxiety and stress and feelings of not being
good enough.
Children sometimes take on anxious feelings of the angry, stressed
and grumpy parent and give up at the very thought of not being
noticed or not meeting a particular standard and thus forming the
basis for procrastination for life if left unaddressed.
Adopting thoughts such as “I feel worthy or deserving of approval
or acknowledgement only when Ive done good.”
Its time to lighten up and know making mistakes is all about
learning in many and varied ways.
I love the Quote” by Ignacio Estrada”If a child cant learn the way
we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.