The Re-Birthing of My Blog: Overcoming Perfectionism and Comparison.
It’s amazing the way life eventually brings us full circle. Years ago when I was just starting out as a yoga teacher I had a blog where I carefully curated content, I meticulously reviewed my writings to make sure they would be universally palatable, and I even had a few blog posts go viral via Elephant Journal. And then, like many things in life, I gradually let my blog fall away.
During this time, I leapt from living in Saint Lucia to living in Hawai’i and with that move I underwent a massive healing journey that involved letting go of a challenging relationship, becoming an solopreneur (I didn’t know that was happening at the time, it just sort of…did), making heaps of new friends, and, gradually, the island took me and my broken heart in.
In this transformation process, I blossomed into the human I am today. Needless to say, I completely forgot about my blog.
Now as I re-birth my passion for writing, my goal is to be more unkempt, to keep it more unpolished, more raw, more true to form of who I have become and am becoming. After all, life is about more than how to attune your chakras. It’s about more than seeing everything through a yogic lens. In fact, I don’t claim to know what life is about at all, except one thing I know for sure is that to love and to be loved is very, very important.
As I sit with this new beginning and do it ‘my’ way - which true to form, is incredibly disorganized, intrinsically creative, and overwhelmingly requiring finesse over time, I realize the most important thing with new endeavors is to just begin. To start where you are.
If we are always worried about how others will perceive us, or that it’s not perfect, it will halt us in our tracks from doing the thing at all. It’s like learning a new instrument, at first, it may not be pretty, but over time the music becomes beautiful, earth moving. It starts with the desire to do it, as long as that is there, you are destined to be successful, but if you’re not willing to begin, the music will always stay inside of you, and it will die with you too.
The willingness to begin, to be a bit messy, to let the inspiration you feel inside of you out into this wild world is unbelievably relieving, life giving. Like metaphorically coming up from under the water to get a deep breath, if not for anyone else other than for you, it’s potent medicine to feel secure and open enough to express oneself. To feel good enough, and worthy enough to be seen.
One thing I’ve noticed that gets in the way of this unabashed expression is the ‘P’ word- perfectionism.
Perfectionism is a disease of the mind in it’s own right. To fall into perfectionism means the inner critic wins every time. It’s like a wild fire that can interrupt our creative flow and expression, and if we feed the flames of perfectionism too much we lose the inspiration and dull our own luminosity. Eventually the spark we felt burns out and goes to ash.
The other thing that gets in the way of starting new projects, or adventures as I like to call them, is the ‘C’ word- comparison. If we compare ourselves to others who began long ago, it will lead us to a frozen stalemate internally and prevent us from acting on what our inner compass is prompting us to do. I’ve heard so many people tell me that there are already enough people doing what they are doing, such as teaching yoga, and sharing content online, why should they even bother? To me this is a bullshit cop out from doing the work that needs to be done.
The reason we should bother is because as long as we are alive, the one guarantee is that we must work to survive. So you call it, dim your light because perfectionism and comparison rule you, and do something you hate for the rest of your life because you were too afraid, too lazy, or both to share your gifts with the world? Or make the conscious decision to override the internal haters (perfectionism and comparison), and share your truth, your inspiration, your knowledge because it has to be done.
If not you, then who? The main thing is to begin. With each step of the way it gets easier, that is one thing I can promise you.
An affirmation I frequently repeat, especially when perfectionism or comparison creeps in is, “Better done than perfect.” Better done than perfect. Say it out loud, see how it lands on your heart.
Even the Bhagavad Gita touches on this in Sloka 18:48, “One ought not give up the work to which one was born, though it has imperfections; for all undertakings are beset with imperfections, as fire with smoke.”
The refinement and genius will reveal itself over time IF you just begin. Without the beginning there is no creation. Whatever it is you are called to do, consider this an invitation to begin. Ask yourself, what’s one thing you can do today to move the needle in the direction of your wildest dreams? For me, you’re reading it right now.