I am a recovering perfectionist. I've spent years wanting everything to be completely and absolutely perfect. That includes every single blog post that you have never seen because they were not perfected enough to post.

I often sit down to write about something that inspires me or something that I hope will inspire you. It's not that I loose interest before posting. The problems is that when perfectionism takes over, writing becomes such an unpleasant process that I walk away from what I am working on and find a more enjoyable way to spend my time.

When perfection takes over, every sentence becomes a painful process. Did I say that the best possible way? I could have done a better job. That isn't perfect. Then I become so obsessed with proof reading that the story that I am working on never sees the light of day. 

The worst thing in the world would be to have a blog post go out with a typo-o or a grammatical error, right? Let's get that one out of the way right now.

Heres a sentance with, alot of mistaks.

There. That wasn't so bad.  

I made a decision that I am going to proof read what I write and then I am going to post it. No more copy editors, no more repeated proof reading sessions and no more taking the joy out of the process. This means that I might miss things. (I might make mistakes. Gasp!)   

I'm okay with mistakes. It has taken me a long time to be able to say that. Let me say it again. I AM OKAY WITH MISTAKES. It is so much better than the alternative. When perfectionism takes over, I pour my heart into a project that I never end up sharing. Instead of hugging my kids, watching the sunset or playing fetch with the puppy, I spend my time worrying about commas. That isn't how I want to be remembered.

So I am doing things differently. I am writing, I am doing my best and I am posting. I would rather post even if it is not perfect. When I share, something I say might make you smile and something I share might even inspire you to reach for more. I think that is well worth the possibility of a misplaced comma. 

I would love it if you left me a comment and let me know if you are also a recovering perfectionist. What holds you back and what have your done to change? I would love to hear your story too.