Perfection is in the Eye of the Beholder

(Written by my girl, Melzie. Thanks lady. I appreciate you).

"There's a popular cliche' that asserts "good is the enemy of great". This was asserted in relation to business, but I find it applies in all facets of life.

Perfect is defined as:

Adjective
Having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be.

Verb
Make (something) completely free from faults or defects, or as close to such a condition as possible.

I'd argue that "as good as it is possible to be" is rarely considered when determining what is perfect because we heavily focus on being "completely free from faults or defects". I think it's time to lighten up a bit.

Recently I found myself declaring quite a few work products as "perfect" because they met the need and met a professional level of expectation. There was a time when I would've hemmed and hawed because something wasn't written in a way I would have, but realizing what a waste of time that is has been a relief. As you know, in business there's often little time for multiple edits and interpretations given time and resources. It seems so much easier to view everything with an open mind and embrace a level of comfort in knowing that [most] people do the best they know how.

The same goes for our personal lives. It dawned on me the other day that this can also alleviate a great deal of stress outside of the 9-to-5. Why nit-pick and downplay what we're presented with when it suits a purpose just fine? Somehow we've become conditioned to expect a great deal from others and even ourselves, but the cost is high with little or no value. Certainly there are situations when we must put forth our absolute best effort, but I'm willing to bet that a quick inventory of daily activities will make it clear these times are far and few in-between.

How many times have you axed a perfectly good creation because it wasn't "perfect", only for someone to compliment your work? Or even worse, declined an opportunity and later found out how great it turned out for someone else? I've done it countless times yet when someone says there's nothing such as 'perfect' I tend to both agree and disagree. I now believe the ever-elusive concept of perfection actually resides in each of us and is based on our personal experiences, biases and knowledge more than anything else.

I'm not sure where we pick up that doing our best is never good enough, at times it really is. If we ease up pressure to put forth an effort that reflects our talent and abilities I believe someone will always see the diamond factor in it.

Ushering in a new positive mindset never hurt anyone. Drop the stress of aiming for perfection because someone will always see things differently. Going forward, let's challenge ourselves to eliminate the moving target of perfection and accept that we are more than able to create and accomplish great things in all areas of our lives.

If we put our best forward we can always challenge our ego by not allowing it to challenge us."

Release

For so long, I carried around so much baggage. Shame! Guilt! Hurt! Pain! Insecurity! Doubt! Blame! These things along with a few others weighed down my soul. My load was so heavy, it almost broke me down. One of the hardest things about this load was I carried it by myself. I didn’t trust HIM enough to leave it with HIM at the altar. I carried it around like it was a part of me, like it defined me. In all honestly, I let it define me. Guilt made me feel like I deserved to be weighed down… like I didn’t deserved to be forgiven and released of those things. That was my mistake. I let the things of the past define who I was as a person going into the future. I’m tired of carrying it and I refuse to carry it any longer. I am releasing it all and dumping it at the altar. Trusting HIM to do all of the things HE said HE would do. My mindset for the New Year is Releasing It and Moving Forward.

My True Essence

Happy New Year! Moving Forward in 2013!

I Am Enough

This piece was written by my friend, DB. I want to thank her for putting herself out there with Confidence. :)

"I AM ENOUGH…..

As I am reflecting on the year 2012, I have had some pretty awesome revelations about myself and one of pivotal one is that… I AM ENOUGH!!

It is quite interesting because prior to moving back to Atlanta in 2010, I never realized that I had an issue with thinking that I was not enough, nor had I ever questioned my self- worth or my value.

It wasn’t until I started on my path as a healer in massage therapy that I tripped and fell over into this abyss of self-doubt….why you might ask?....because western culture does not hold healing of this nature in the same regard as say, they would a doctor or nurse and most assuredly not in the same manner that they applaud and appreciate those that are savvy enough to navigate through corporate America. (By the way, I was once a corporate girl).

However, nothing struck that doubt in me more than the “What Do You Bring to the Table” discussion. Never had a clue I felt on a deep level that I questioned the value of what I bring to the table.  After much pondering, I realized that I felt this way because I had been measuring myself against external things and comparing myself, which is DEATH to the self-esteem….actually it is already in despair, if one is doing such a thing.

The wonderful thing about this realization is that it made me look at me…I mean really assess ME.

This is when I began to see that none of what I espoused above was the problem.  It was me that held those beliefs about me and becoming a healer and having to answer that question exposed what had been lurking beneath the surface, hiding within and sabotaging me on all levels in my life.

 As I delved within and began dispel the myth and unveil the illusion that my ego was feeding me.  I began to realize that we unknowingly internalize small things over time that chip away at our ability to fully embrace and love our true essence.  Although we still operate and function in the world as happy people...it is always this "something" that gnaws at us…. and it is our soul beckoning us to fully embrace it with kick ass boldness and making no apologies for who we know ourselves to be and the power we hold and must wield to navigate our own personal journey.

This allowed me to fully embrace the BEAUTY in me….. the POWER in me and to APPRECIATE and LOVE ME in a way I had not done before….I became conscious and AWAKENED to ME.

I AM ENOUGH….when I show up at the table the TRUE ESSENCE of me is enough. I am not bringing achievements, accolades and other material successes to be granted a seat at the table.

This spiritual being, navigating in this physical body is AWESOMENESS walking. It is the place from which all things flow from me and is created. It is a place of POWER. The VALUE lies within the awareness of and embracing my true self.  It is in this knowledge that I know I AM the asset and I AM adding value to those lives I touch.

I AM ENOUGH… filled up, running over and flowing out to the world with a light full of love."