Marybeth has some thoughts about perfectionism.
I was talking with a friend yesterday about how when a moving company moves you, they send 2 or 3 guys and they pack up everything you own in a day… ONE DAY!….. That's because they see it, they grab it, they pack it…. There is no sense of "I have 16 books from this 18 book set. I should go look for the other 2 books so they can all be packed together."
I think that I have done the same thing with eating…. There have been times that I get so focused on what would be the perfect thing to eat, that I might nibble enough calories to qualify as a meal while I am searching for/preparing that 'perfect' thing…. All of a sudden, that doesn't seem so perfect, does it? I am fortunate enough to say that I have not done that in some time, but that was a big thing with me….Exercise has been like that for me, too. I waited the longest time to do ANYTHING because the time wasn't perfect and the routine is most definitely not perfect – I mean really – 10 minutes is hardly what I consider a great workout….. Maybe it's 'Just Right' for my current physical condition, but it certainly does not FEEL perfect…..So, I think I have rambled enough here, but the main thing I want to say is do NOT be a perfectionist…. If you wait for perfection, you'll NEVER get it/do it/have it….. You can certainly work towards perfection, but as we are all inherently flawed and imperfect, waiting for yourself to be perfect is setting yourself up for a failure….
Today I wanted to get the kids to a birthday party, twenty minutes away, at 1 pm. I also wanted to swim, to pick up new books at the library, and to feed everyone lunch at home.
I keep forgetting to allow that extra 15 minutes in my schedule for the baby to nurse one last time. So when I pulled out of my garage it was 11:06.
I told myself: I will swim for exactly 30 minutes, not the 47 minutes it takes me to swim 1600 yards. That worked okay. I think I managed — let's see — 1050 yards.
I told myself: I will take a really fast shower and not waste any time in the locker room. That didn't work exactly, because I saw a bemused-looking older lady in the locker room, asked if she needed help finding anything, and wound up having a nice conversation about starting up an exercise program. I'm glad I did. I learned that her name was Rose, that she was 60 pounds into a hoped-for 100-pound weight loss, and that she recently joined the Y because she was tired of being home alone after having lost her fiance a few months ago. I hope I helped her feel welcome.
I told myself: I will tell the kids they can each pick out a movie, but they only have as much time as it takes me to return my books and pick up my holds. That worked great. Except I forgot to check if the movies were good choices or not. We shall see when I get home and open up the bag.
I told myself: I will just run through the drive through at Taco Bell. Except the line was long, so we went inside. That worked okay, though. Everyone had one thing. Mine was a salad. I could have made it something smaller. I will probably have a mainly-vegetable dinner, and that will feel better inside.
I told myself: I will only be 15 minutes late.
And I was.
Not perfect, but (since it was that same 15 minutes I forgot to schedule to nurse the baby), at least I closed all the balances. And my engineering brain can be happy with that.
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