I'm Not Good At This And I'm Doing It Anyway

3 mantras for recovering perfectionists

I’m so glad you’re here! I’m Sarah Von Bargen, a long-time online writer, educator, and coach. Every week we’ll be exploring ideas around spending our time, money, and energy on purpose + how to build a life we love that doesn’t make us broke or exhausted.

Sometimes when people compliment me on how organized / driven / prompt / intentional I am, I say “I’m an INTJ Virgo eldest child of Germanic and Scandinavian heritage. It’s the software that came installed.”

Which is to say: This is the brain I was born with AND I only want to do things I’m immediately good at. I want most things I do to be - if not perfect - then very, very good.

This is, of course, a recipe for:

• procrastination

• disappointment

• a small life where you only do a few variations of the same thing, over and over

Not awesome, right? Though I don’t have a 100% success rate, I’ve been able to rein in my perfectionist tendencies pretty significantly with these three mantras.

“I’m not good at this and I’m doing it anyway.”

Here’s the thing: 90% of the time it doesn’t really matter if you’re actually “good” at something.

Your cardiovascular health doesn’t care if you’re the best dancer in the Zumba class, as long as you’re moving.

The friend who’s hosting the barbecue doesn’t care if your brownies are Ina Garten-calibar. She cares that you a) showed up b) brought something to share.

Your paint job in the spare bathroom? You don’t have to fool people into thinking you hired a professional.

There are times in your life where it truly matters if you’re actively bad at something, but most of the time? To quote the youths: It’s just not that serious.

You know that Pinterest-y quote “Do it scared”?

Do it mediocre.

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