Softening the Perfectionist Within You

There are many perfect moments – enjoy them Think “mastering”, not “perfecting”

Tolerate imperfections. Be happy for the opportunity to learn from your mistakes. Artist Bob Ross called them “Happy Little Accidents”

Think in terms of progress. When frustrated on one area, move on and come back to it later

Be resilient like a duck´s back and let negative criticism from others roll right off

See the whole forest, not just the details

Don´t put things off – just start

Quit comparing yourself to others

Goals are good – just keep them realistic and honest

Now say something nice about yourself/your horse

I recently had a conversation with a colleague on her need to be perfect. It went like this:

“I keep practicing, but I feel that I´ll never get perfect.”

To which I quoted the standard wisdom about it “only being an illusion”.

“Oh, yeah, like in ´there is no perfect horse´”, was her reply

My inner Yoda kicked in with “No perfect horse, no perfect rider, no perfect instructor”. She paused, and then lamented “Oh, but I try SO hard to be perfect!”

“Will you settle for ´Outstandingly Good´?” I asked

After some thought, she laughed and replied “Yes! Thanks for giving me ´an out´!”

I could feel the pressure lifting.

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