Growth Mindset Tip #37: Progress not Perfection for More Resilience

<p> In 2019, Anne Marie Bonneau, known as the zero waste chef, said this, "We don't need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly." Hey there, it's Michael. Welcome to Whole Again, the show that's here in support of the person you're becoming and a meaningful life.</p>
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<p>And her quote of doing things imperfectly is the foundation of this week's tip. As you might know, this year I'm celebrating the 25th anniversary of my last bad day, the day that sparked all of this. And every Friday I'm sharing little tips, some ingredients if you will, for a meaningful life that have helped me along the way.</p>
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<p>And I will say, not everything that helped me will help you because if you've been following along, you know that we all have our own Toll House cookie recipe. We all do things just a little bit different. And this week's tip, which is number 37, is all about making progress over perfection. If I can, allow me to share a story.</p>
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<p>In 1997, I went to France with my wife for the very first time. We went there to check out the Tour de France and to check out some of the sights. And one sight we wanted to check out was the Louvre and the Mona Lisa. It was supposed to be the world's perfect painting. So we got there early. We were all queued up.</p>
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<p>I think we were, like, fifth in line. And like everyone else, we rushed to the Mona Lisa to get a glimpse of her in all her perfection. And as all these people from all around the world gathered around, people had different reactions. Certainly, there were people who felt like she was the most beautiful thing ever.</p>
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<p>And others were like, "That's it? That's the perfect painting? I don't think so." That moment for me underscored that perfection is in the eye of the beholder. And so often we allow perfection to run our lives, and when it does, we don't get things accomplished because we're so worried about being judged for producing something that's not perfect, even though we know intellectually that, again, perfect is in the eye of the beholder What Anne Marie said as it relates to food waste was we need more people simply taking imperfect action.</p>
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<p>That's how we make things happen. That's how we create a meaningful life. Not in the pursuit of doing everything perfect, but showing up and doing the thing, maybe in a perfectly imperfect way, as I like to say. I didn't mention it in Wednesday's episode about Ted Lasso, in episode number six in my recap, but there's a Mark Twain quote in that episode, "Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection."</p>
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<p>How true is that? So as I've gone through my healing journey, one principle that I led with was to simply show up imperfect as I am because I knew the act of being consistent, of showing up, again, perhaps imperfectly, those days all tied together, that's how we make progress. So this week, don't allow perfection to be the enemy of good.</p>
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<p>In your own way, see if you can take imperfect action because I bet if you do, you'll role model something that others will see, and they might also take imperfect action. And then together, as Anne Marie said back in 2019, maybe we can get a million people or millions of people taking imperfect action so we can solve the challenges that are in front of us, and we can step into the person we're becoming and create a meaningful life.</p>
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<p>As always, thanks for being here. Thanks for listening. And I hope you're checking out my series, A Perfectly Imperfect Union, where I'm talking to people about their reflections as America celebrates year 250. And I'll have another episode for you tomorrow. But in the meantime, remember to celebrate your scars as golden symbols of your strength and resilience, and don't forget to have fun storming the castle.</p>
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<p>And if you wish to learn more about creating beautiful ripples and how to prevent a bad moment from turning into a bad day, please visit my website, michaelobrienshift.com, and sign up for my newsletter called The Ripple Effect. And join us each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday here at Whole Again, and discover how you can heal, grow, and become more resilient, and celebrate our scars as golden symbols of strength and resilience.</p>
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<p>Until then, remember, you can always come back to your breath. You've got this, and we've got you.</p>