Why is it that finishing something can feel so overwhelming? There’s something about closing the chapter on something that can be not only intimidating but practically instill dread in the procrastinating individual.
Case in point- I had been working on a simple scarf for my daughter for the longest- knitting a few rows here and there over the last year or two, wondering if it was long enough, and Harper finally said, “Mama can you just finish already?!” I hemmed and hawed and made excuses about how I didn’t really remember how to cast off (nothing a simple YouTube search couldn’t fix, of course). She literally created a motivational sign for me that said, “You Can Cast Off!”, prominently displaying it so I couldn’t avoid the task any longer.
So I sat down and finally finished the darn scarf. She wore it proudly and my guilt of this unfinished business quickly melted away. So why do I put myself through such misery- whether it’s the manuscript that hasn’t been submitted to a journal, unfinished clinic charts, an email draft to an old friend, or even a new blog post? I consider it remnants of a recovering perfectionist. Getting things *just right * sure got me far in my career in medicine, but maladaptive perfectionism is its own burden that can limit one in sending their thoughts into the universe.
2022 is winding down and I’m looking at what intentions I hope to set for the new year. And I think I’ve got a good one- trusting myself to finish. We can’t let the fear of imperfection paralyze us from sharing things that are a little raw - because who knows if those rough thoughts might impact someone else in a positive way? So here’s to finishing up, speaking up, and releasing a little goodness into the world in the process.
No comments:
Post a Comment