You have two full months left in 2022. Are you taking action to finish it strong, or are you waiting for the perfect time when you feel ready?
Honestly, is there ever the “perfect” time to do anything? If perfectionism has you waiting, a more effective approach can be taking messy action and learning along the way. You’ll see immediate progress!
What’s messy action? Messy action means different things to different people. It can mean:
- Taking imperfect action
- Starting without a complete plan
- Or launching before you think something is perfect.
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It’s about progression, not perfection.
What If…
Sometimes when we are thinking about taking action toward our goals, we tend to get caught up in a bunch of “what if” scenarios:
- What if I fail?
- What if I’m not good enough?
- What if this or that?
Staying stuck in these thoughts can feel overwhelming – like being on a hamster wheel. Perfectionism can keep us from moving forward with changes to make our lives better.
Messy Action To The Rescue!
When I was designing my From Self-Doubt to Self-Confidence 1:1 Bootcamp, I had lots of what ifs pop into my thoughts. I thought I had to have all my “ducks in a row” before starting.
Thankfully I quickly used my tools that I learned in my Fearless Living Life Coach Certification Program.
Instead of spinning in circles and trying to make each detail perfect before launching, I moved into imperfect action.
First, I found a couple people who were thrilled to be beta clients for my program. Then, I immediately coached the first session.
Based on how each beta session went (including client feedback), I knew how to complete the design for each subsequent session.
That process of taking action before I fully felt ready resulted in a very strong and effective program. Had I let perfectionism keep me in inaction, I’d still be spinning my wheels of inaction!
Scared of Failing?
Fear tries to stop you from taking action, and one way it does that is by getting you to believe that you’ll never be good enough and that you’ll fail.
Letting fear of failure hold you back will keep you forever wondering a whole new set of regretful what ifs such as:
- What if I had tried and it turned out great?
- What if I had started and I’d be nearing my goal?
- What if it wasn’t as scary as I’m letting my mind make up?
Fear of failure is real, yet you have the choice of letting it stop you, or not.
Pro Tip: When you make a mistake or do what you deem as a failure, take away your lessons and move on quickly. Don’t focus on what went wrong. Rather, focus on your next best solution.
Also, try to think of failure as the first try that teaches important lessons.
What happens when you take that first step?
As you get out of your comfort zone and take any action (including messy action) toward your goal:
- Your fear will get smaller
- You’ll gain momentum
- And you’ll feel more confident
You don’t need all the answers in order to get started. Messy action creates progression, and progression is so much better than inaction!
(Read my previous post to learn more about how fear works.)
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“Slow is the new fast.”
I love that quote by my mentor, Rhonda Britten of the Fearless Living Institute. But how exactly does this relate to taking action?
Let’s say you create a big fitness goal as a New Year’s resolution. You go to the gym every day and workout hard! Then, you end up injured, exhausted, and burnt out so that you give up on your goal by January 15. Sound familiar?
Taking leaps like that can give you the opposite effect of what you intended. You end up letting your fitness level sink to worse than when you started, and your confidence is crushed.
Rather than taking a big leap, a more effective approach can be taking small, consistent steps. With small action steps, you’re likely to experience consistent success that builds confidence instead of tearing it down… and that can lead to taking bigger action steps.
Additionally, opportunities tend to open up as you start to take action.
Muster up the courage to be willing to take small action steps (messy action is perfect!), you’ll learn from those actions. Learning builds confidence… with more confidence you’ll have more courage to try more new things, and the cycle continues!
Isn’t that a better cycle than allowing perfectionism to keep you in inaction, or setting unattainable goals that end up moving you backward? Progress!
The Key is to Start!
That action step that you’re afraid to take can be the step that changes everything.
Everything doesn’t need to be perfectly aligned before taking action.
There’s often not a single right way of accomplishing something. Instead of waiting until you feel perfectly ready, try starting with messy action and learn along the way.
Pro Tip: As you start to move beyond perfectionism by taking messy action, surround yourself with a circle of support. When you have people encouraging you and helping you with accountability, you are less likely to fall into old patterns. And If you do fall into old patterns, you have the support to move out of them quickly.
You’re Invited…
If you want help breaking free from the same old patterns that keep you from creating the life you want, then hire me as your life coach. Let’s talk!
We’ll create a plan for you to get beyond the obstacles that are holding you back so that you can experience true confidence and build a successful relationship, career, or life that you so desire. Book a free Strategy Call today.
