Who is running the show in your life?
An interesting thing about human beings is we’re comprised of many different aspects of the self…the perfectionist, the clown, the artist, the tease, the politician. There can be more or different aspects but these are common examples. Each of these selves has positive or anabolic attributes and a reason for being there. Creating awareness about their roles can give us a lot more choice in how we act and re-act in life.
I am a self-proclaimed recovering perfectionist. There are times when it has served me well and times when it just got in the way. Last Thursday was a great example of how recreating my relationship with my perfectionist generated opportunity and results instead of a missed moment and anxiety. I arrived for an early 730am start to do a workburst session with DWD’s Marni Battista. Since it was so early, I had tossed on some sweatpants and a t-shirt. With my haircut scheduled for that afternoon, I wasn’t overly concerned about how that looked either.
As I put our ritual coffee down on the table, Marni announced we were going to do a video interview for her 2 Minutes to a Better You Vblog. Guess what part of me wanted to run home to fix hair, change wardrobe, apply makeup…or just reschedule the whole thing for a day when I could come prepared with material and dressed the part? I decided to show the perfectionist who was in charge and said, “…sure thing, Marni” right on the spot. We had an absolute blast doing the segment and I’ve received nothing but great feedback…especially on how natural it all came out. Perhaps because it was!…totally unprepared and totally unrehearsed.
I’m not sending my perfectionist packing. She’s great to have around when I need to proof flyers going off for printing, set up organizational systems to automate my business or complete other detailed projects. I just don’t let her get in the way now.
Generally, one of the strongest selves with a tendency to take over is the inner critic or judge. To read more about that aspect of the self, sign up for my Newsletter. It features some great information on negotiating the relationship with the inner critic into a more balanced place this week.
Now, I think I’ll tap into the tease as I head out to do some salsa dancing tonight!
