I've done it!

And yes my heart rate is still high

On Sunday I shared how I received negativity on a Facebook post recently and how it’s knocked me off guard.

One comment on that Facebook post (politely) said that personal development wouldn't have helped me enjoy vet practice, I needed to learn more in my areas of professional weakness (ouch).

Another (much less politely) asked a series of rhetorical questions misrepresenting what I'd said, and finished with “I'm concerned”.

Others questioned the science, asked “why I thought I should be a perfect vet at just 2 years qualified?” (felt like this one missed the point) and said it was rude to other veterinary team members to think I was the only one that impacted the success of a case 🤦‍♀️

As a perfectionist, I would have been MORTIFIED.

Just pretend I’m not here. Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

That's if I'd have ever got around to writing it in the first place.

More likely, I'd have been so scared of potential comments like that, and of my writing and work being misrepresented, that I'd never have written it at all.

With mindfulness (because it is through that that I've learnt how to let go of perfectionism), I was able to move past the fear of needing to write a perfect post.

AND I was able to answer the questions that came up in the comments, because I wasn't paralysed by fear and beating myself up for "being an idiot" and not including the information first time around.

So one could argue that my standards lowered

You could say, that as a perfectionist I'd have written it better first time.

But I'd argue that if I was still a perfectionist in that regard, I'd never have had the courage to submit that post, one which, based on the private messages I received and number of workshop signups, has touched a decent number of people.

And I definitely wouldn’t have had the courage to go back AND WRITE ANOTHER POST in that group.

On Sunday I shared how I didn’t feel mentally strong enough to post there again… yet.

18 minutes ago, I hit post.

I still feel a little bit sick 😅

BUT I also feel immensely proud.

That feeling of “HELL YEAH, I did something really hard today and I am SMASHING it”.

It’s too soon to tell if I’ll get negative comments again.

I’m not going to pretend it won’t hurt if I do.

But finding something difficult, doing it anyway, and feeling proud of myself for trying - that makes it worth it.

And that’s something Old Me could never have done.

Want to learn more about releasing perfectionism?

If you’ve not listened to my free workshop on releasing perfectionism, you can get the replay here.

If you’ve already listened, had a load of “aha” moments and now want to know more; listen to the series on perfectionism in MOMENTUM, my monthly mindful membership.

You’ll learn

• What to do when you know something is good enough, but your head is screaming at you to do more

• How to release worry about consequences in the future (any other perfectionists think “well if I don’t make it perfect, it’ll create more work in the long run?!”)

• How to deal with that awful moment when you are imperfect and make a mistake (because it does happen sometimes, and when it does, it sucks)

Plus you’ll get access to all other mini-series, for just £7.50* 🤯

Select upgrade below or get more details on each podcast episode here

*monthly fee, cancel anytime - so pay once, binge all content, then leave if you like, although I hope you’ll want to stay 🥰

One final thing

I wanted to say a massive thanks to everyone who liked, commented or messaged me after my email on Sunday.

I love what I do, but it is hard being honest and vulnerable sometimes. Every little interaction from you lovely people makes it all so worthwhile.

That’s it folks

As always, I hope it’s given you something to think about.

You can overcome perfection.

It is hard, but DAMN, what could feel better than going to bed proud after a hard day?!

Sending love,

Lucy

PS. It was 18 minutes ago when I wrote this. Then comments started coming in and I started replying and this didn’t get sent until the next day… I can report that the last time I checked, it was still only positive 🥳