Do you expect yourself to always be perfect and do perfectly?
If you do, then you might consider anything less than perfection as a failure.
That doesn’t leave much wiggle room for learning from mistakes to become better.
Instead, it leads to self-sabotage. If you can’t do it perfectly then why do it at all? Or, if you can’t do it perfectly now then you’ll never be able to do it.
I had a really eye opening moment years ago at a job I’d been working at for a few months. I made some mistakes, as people do when they’re learning, and I felt discouraged because I wanted to present myself as a perfect employee.
I wanted my boss and co-workers to think I was something I wasn’t.
The funny thing about that is that I never thought I was perfect, I’m not a totally arrogant narcissist, but I expected myself to be perfect and I wanted to present myself as if I was.
There was a disconnect between what I thought I was and what I expected of myself and this is because my expectation was unrealistic.
Expecting perfection in yourself, especially with something you’ve not practiced enough, sets you up for disappointment.
Heck, it does even with something you’ve practiced for years. Even Michael Jordan didn’t make 100% of the shots he took.
Your eating habits are never going to be perfect.
Your body is never going to be perfect.
Expect to be imperfect, to make mistakes, to be human.
You’ll save yourself from a lot of disappointment.
No one is perfect, not Michael Jordan, not you, and definitely not me.
