The Problem with Perfectionism: Learn from My Mistakes

Hi there, this is a hard post to write, but here I am writing it anyway. It’s all about my struggle with perfectionism and the problem with perfectionism. After my last post, I was so overwhelmed with trying to make my next post perfect (especially after hyping it up), that I did a ton of reading and research for it and never actually wrote it. Days and weeks went by and I started working on tax returns (I’m working on building up my own tax practice & left my corporate job) and did absolutely nothing with my blog or any of my social media. I was in complete fear that it wouldn’t be good enough in a sea of perfect blogs, pretty pictures, witty tweets, and amazing videos.

Now, it’s May and my birthday is slowly creeping up and I realized, it’s never going to be perfect. I know I’ve told people that they just need to make progress and keep working on something, but in practice, that’s been extremely hard for me. It’s never been my intention to come off as a hypocrite or spread nonsense BS advice that everyone and their mama shares online. I wanted to be different, and hopefully, this post shows that. I say all that to say, I’m not perfect and I’m not even 100% staunch on my views on the world because I’m young and the world and I are forever changing.

Failure & Rejection

In this day and age it can be scary to make a mistake due to cancel culture, potentially not being politically correct, and rejection in general. It’s different looking at this lens as a Black person because I’ve seen so many non-POC (read white) people fail up. Even though they make mistakes, and this is some, not all, the repercussions aren’t as bad. Is this rooted in systemic racism? Most likely. But that’s another story for another day. The point is, I’ve always done things right and have held onto a lot of pride, but with this brand, this blog, this everything, I’m struggling. The problem with perfectionism is not letting anyone see or know that you’re struggling.

Whew, that was hard to admit.

Committing to it All

Last week, I decided to just get back on the grind and start working on my brand, business, and self like I hadn’t really before because of fear. Honestly, I’ve spent a lot of my life worried about how other people perceive me and whether or not I was successful in the eyes of myself and others. When I made my decision last week, I knew I’d have to come face to face with the hard truth that I’m not perfect. Fear and inaction haven’t made me any more perfect, rather stunted my growth. I scrolled endlessly, read others’ content abundantly, and thought why is my work not like this? Comparison is the thief of joy, and it’s also a ?!#$%.

I feel like I’ve just said a lot while saying a bunch of nothing, so if you’ve made it this far, bless you.

Intention for this Blog

My goal and intention with this blog and everything I do on social media and in life is to show you the curated with the imperfect. I want you to learn from my mistakes. You may still make similar mistakes, but maybe it’ll hurt a little bit less if you do. Maybe you can bounce back up a little quicker than I did, and I hope that’s helpful to you. I’m back, and really (so I hope), better than ever. I’m ready to stumble and fall and make mistakes in front of you so you can actually see the bounce back.

Like I’m sure you have, I’ve seen tons of people talk about the low points in their lives at the pinnacle of their careers. Not enough people mention the lows, but here we go. Thanks for sticking with me this long if you’re still here. I hope you’re in for a wild ride with me to come. I’m still going to have difficulties as a recovering perfectionist. That’s the biggest problem with perfectionism, sucking it up and being mediocre to earn expertise.
I Appreciate You,

P.S. I’m SO sorry if you’ve received a ton of spam from the blog. As you can see, we had a bit of a glow up here. Since I’m recommitting myself, I wanted to make some changes to the aesthetic I’d be proud of and hope you are too!