On Perfectionism
(Newsletter January 2021)
Remember back in Spring when I said my new website would launch in six weeks time? Well it did, but I didn't tell you! Why? I was afraid it wasn't good enough and so, residing in a creeping sense of shame I haven't written a newsletter since! Ridiculous, right? I mean, I designed and built the entire site myself with automations and all, what's there to be ashamed of?
Well, I discovered I'm a perfectionist.
Perfectionism is the Haute Couture of Fear It sounds kind of chic "Oh I'm a perfectionist" but let me tell you, it's simply old school fear in disguise. I was feeling fear that it's not good enough, fear that it doesn't function properly, fear that the menus aren't properly visible on mobile, fears that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the blog, fears, fears, fears and on and on with the fears! It was this perfectionism realisation (thank you Elizabeth Gilbert for the Haute Couture metaphor) that has brought me to write to you now and get over that shame part too!
The older part of our brain can't quite distinguish between fear arising as a genuine threat to survival and the kind of fear that the mind conjures out of it's habitual knots concerning failure, concerning success. It took me months of writing to see this clearly (journaling is part of Svadhyaya - self-study as prescribed by the Vedas), though it seems so obvious now!
Perfectionism doesn't get to come along to my website launch party anymore but YOU %FIRSTNAME%, certainly DO! 🎉 🎉 🎉
I invite you to enjoy the new site, check out the retreats and workshops, courses, livestream classes and maybe even this blog you’re reading! You might even like my free Yoga Nidra download to help you drift off into a good night's sleep...
And if you're creating something or dreaming about creating something, don't let that fake-chic perfectionism hold you back, it's just the brain getting confused - writing your book or painting that picture is not life threatening!
Be well, do your Yoga, pour compassion on yourself and others,
X Josie