Jordan and I were laying in bed watching Shark Tank (best show!) the other night and one of the sharks said something to the entrepreneur who was presenting that struck a chord with me:

"Perfectionism is the enemy of profitability."

Now before I get any further, what you may or may not know about me is that I am a Type A perfectionist, so it's a little bit ironic that I am writing a blog post on how to deal with perfectionism (LOL). But then again, I have also had to learn how to combat it over the years, so while it's still something I struggle with, I am definitely much more experienced in the art of perfectionism and how to push past it.

Anyways, back to the quote. When he said this, I knew he was speaking in regards to "profitability" in a business, but I immediately began thinking about how this can apply to our personal lives.

Where do we (especially as women) allow perfectionism to get in the way of profitability in various aspects of our lives - in our marriages, relationships, jobs, goals, or dreams? When does our striving to be perfect, or lack of action altogether as a result of feeling inadequate, become our enemy?

I know for me that can look like stressing about the house being dirty and snapping at my husband as a result, or even just sacrificing quality time with him when he's home to go on a cleaning binge. Or thinking that if we don't get in this grand date night with an expensive dinner regularly that our marriage is going to suffer. Or stressing over my business and barely getting anything done if my desk isn't perfectly organized and I don't have the perfect to-do lists written out. Or even spending all my time writing those "perfect" to-do lists and not actually DOING the things on them.

I know at least one of you reading this can relate, right?!

Whatever perfectionism looks like for you, just know that when you allow it to have it's way, you are allowing it to kill your profitability in that area of your life. Because girl, if you wait for everything to be perfect or until you feel 100% "ready", you're going to be waiting a LONG time.

Maybe you've been wanting to lose weight and get in shape. Maybe you've been wanting to start a side business or chase a dream you've had for a while. Maybe you've been wanting to invest more in your relationships.

Whatever it is, I want you to decide today to stop giving into the lies you've been telling yourself (you don't have the time, you don't have the money, you aren't qualified enough, etc.) and take that first step, even if you're scared. Stop waiting for things to feel perfect and commit once and for all to simply START! Any result is better than NO result.

And if you fail, just pick yourself back up and keep on truckin'. It won't always be easy, but when you put one foot in front of the other and take it one step at a time, you'll look back one day and realize just how far you've come.

xoxo,
Lily


P.S. Did this encourage you? Are you a perfectionist too? What do you struggle with the most? Let me know below!