Yesterday Dr. Phil took a break from his usual "my mom committed murder" or "my 13 year old daughter is pregnant" and did something out of the ordinary. He interviewed one of my favorite people and didn't try to analyze anyone. He sat down with Barbara Streisand and Seth Rogen, stars of the upcoming film "The Guilt Trip".
At one point in the interview Dr. Phil asked Barbara if she considered herself a perfectionist. She said up until now, she really didn't. Seth Rogen told her she was indeed a perfectionist and she should own that. She agreed and said now she does admit it – she is a perfectionist in everything she does. Hmmm….just own it – I liked that.
Today in Bikram yoga class someone fell out of toe stand. Wonderful guest teacher said that it's okay to take a little spill once in awhile, in fact, it's probably a good thing. That resonated with being a perfectionist. I think a lot of us are perfectionists. We want what we do to be "right". We want to do it ourselves and and stand back, with our hands on our hips, and survey just how nicely we placed each piece, giving our creation a certain voice. I love that feeling. I get it when I draw. I get it when I write. I get it when I clean the house. And that's great, if it always turned out that way.
What about when it doesn't? I just got my Xmas cards in the mail from the printer and sat down to write them out. I remember making them a few weeks ago. I go through a lot for the perfect card. I start the whole year before, taking umpteen pictures outside during every snowstorm we get, hoping just one will become next year's card. When I find that picture and add my words, I love the card I created. It's perfect and it will take what's in my heart to the homes of my friends and family who live far away and I don't see often.
I ordered 25 cards – not cheap – and had written out about half of them when I saw it. A mistake. I sent it to print with a mistake on the front of the card.
Season's was Season"s.
Devastation set in. My card is not perfect. In all the years I've been making these cards, I never sent one to print with a mistake. How could this happen? What am I going to do now? It's too late and way too expensive to reprint. Dejectedly, I finished writing out the rest of the cards, still not sure I could bring myself to mail them. This morning, instead of taking them with me to yoga to mail afterward, I left them on the counter, all sealed, complete with stamps, and sadly picked up my mat and headed out the door.
Then…..teacher Alex said it's probably good to take a little spill once in awhile. Barbara Streisand said she just owns being a perfectionist now. And here sit my imperfect cards. Sometimes it really is good for a perfectionist to take a little spill. It's okay to be a perfectionist, as long as you don't think you are always going to be perfect. This I need to own. I guess I'll just start owing the mistake by mailing the cards.
Ummm….no.
And so, as another day goes by, either I'm not very good at taking little spills or I have too much time on my hands, and…I have written.
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