We thought we weren’t trying hard enough.
Did you know that the biggest obstacle to not finishing your goals is not Laziness but Perfectionism?
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A review summary on Jon Acuff’s book Finish
Who knew that perfectionism was our biggest enemy? Hasn’t that always been the goal? That dastardly “perfect persona” we all strive for? Well, apparently, backed by research, and what it says on repeat, is that the harder you try to be perfect, the less likely you actually will be.
Well, it turns out Jon Acuff is waaaaay ahead of us.
His book, Finish, and the way he lays out this shockingly horrible set of social constructs we have all been meant to believe, and dispels this relieving truth is nothing short of stellar. With his humor, perfectly (haha see what I did there?) stitched throughout.
I personally love to listen to authors read their books (note: Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey, Born a Crime, Trevor Noah, both absolute magic.) I don’t think the books would be the same if not read from the very personality having created it. Authors read and pause and laugh and make their jokes… Bravo, Jon Acuff.
Perfection: the Evil Overlord
Perfectionism is the enemy. In the aftermath of the Great Depression and WWII there were instruction manuals for women to have your children dressed up and clean and quiet when your man came home? While you, yourself were dressed up, clean, quiet and sane?
Hello, perfectionism. (Yikes.) Well… I don’t know about you, but I am eternally grateful those days are over…
Hi, I’m human, have you met my species?
What part of us is perfect? I think the amazing biology of how our bodies work is perfect (to an extent)… but after that… who are we really kidding?
Perfectionism is an unattainable goal, however, why are us fallible humans obsessed with it? It’s like ingrained in our DNA and we have no choice. Well, this book dispels this myth and takes a huge weight off all of our proverbial shoulders.
And this book is based off of RESEARCH by REAL researchers… to tell you to take the pressure off and cut yourself some slack!
Starting a new goal is easier than finishing one
It’s natural to want to change for the better. It’s natural to set our sights high and our goals lofty.
However, there is too much emphasis on the beginning, Acuff suggests. Our imagination gets the better of us, and our goals turn to dreams which turn into a big puffy pink cloud of this-is-so-unrealistic-it-is-never-going-to-happen. What can we say? We are lovers and dreamers?
OR: It super happens… What are you talking about? For 12 solid days! And then lets take a diet for example, you have the extra cheese on your pizza for dinner one night while out with friends and then it is all over.
I mean, then… I MUST have an extra scoop of ice cream for dessert and WTH I am going for waffles with extra whip cream and a side of bacon the next morning. WTH is right. WTH just happened.
The streak was over.
So you just quit all together.
You quit because it wasn’t “perfect.”
So, human brain in its infinite wisdom decides instead of completing this goal, let’s start another. Ever wonder why there are so many “diets” out there? That CLEARLY, was not the right one… Let’s start another.
Hence, never finishing.
Cut yourself some slack! And cut your goal in half!
Huh? How will I ever reach my goals by being a wimp and starting small? My goals err dreams will never look like they are in my head if I start out wimpy!
We are all full of motivation and optimism at the beginning, but as soon as we mess up, consider the towel to be thrown.
Cutting your goal in half encourages you to do more… It would seem less daunting to say that you want to lose 10lbs rather than saying you want to lose 20lbs. When you reach your 10lbs. loss, start again, Jon Acuff recommends.
Scale, stock image
I mean, for ME…I’m just saying… starting this again 3 more times at 5 lbs seems the LEAST daunting, but we all work a bit differently don’t we?
I just love you, crazy human brain: 100 push ups to start sounds incredibly reasonable… but 10 a day to start and building up to 100? No way! That is just ridiculous! How am I going to get anywhere with that little number?
Messy (albeit perceived wimpy) action beats perfect procrastination (or not doing anything at all) every-single-time!
Find your Noble Obstacles/Secret Rules
A good example of a hiding place for me? If you do something like I do…I deleted my FB app. The “I’m bored/restless/I’m just going to scroll here for a minute” button. Do you know how many times I was found flipping through my phone and looking for it without any conscious thought?
shhhhh, stock image.
Or the dishes to be done or the laundry that needs get to put away… seems noble, yes? It is especially (don’t let anyone tell you differently) noble to put your laundry away… but understanding the secret nooks we like to distract ourselves with is the first step to overcoming your hiding places!
Jon Acuff says, Clearly you are day tripping in a hiding place that masquerades as productivity (or something equally brilliant.)
Then there are these rules that we unconsciously follow that are cracks in the road of our journey. They are huge potholes that will swallow your car and prevent us from getting where we want to go. One example is, “If I’m not completely irritated by the end of the day, I’m not doing something productive.”
Reflection of a puddle in a pot hole showing skyscrapers and a plane flying overhead, stock image
Or, maybe you secretly think that certain body types are bad and you shouldn’t draw such attention to yourself or that wealth and success will make you a greedy, hollow shell of a person. Maybe you’ve created these secret rules out of fear to protect yourself…
News flash: None of this is true.
Dispell the myths, and let’s get on with it.
Give yourself a hand.
So on top of being complete head cases, we like to make things more difficult on ourselves… This example coming from the heart of my very home: We know we are awful in the morning! But, we like to get to work, and we like to go on outdoor adventures for the day which… guess what? start in the morning.
Setting yourself up for success is something we like to practice in this household. If that is just putting water in the kettle for the morning or packing our bags the night before, or sticking a post-it on the door (don’t laugh- these suckers are used often) to remind ourselves of something…
Full wall of post it notes, stock image
These are helping hands across the board. We aren’t the most chipper or “with it” in the mornings and we know this so we make sure to be efficient as possible at night so, dare I say it? We can be lazy in the morning?
Have some fun
This is so weird to say. Do we even know why we are here or what we are doing? So why aren’t we having the time of our lives? Ok. Society dictates we must earn our keep to live in this construct we humans created and do something with our lives. But why can’t it be fun? You might not guess that having more fun, and eliminating your long constructed secret rules are the keys to success, but the data says otherwise, Acuff sites.
Great success! stock image
People who have fun are 43 percent more successful! Imagine if your diet, or small business was 43 percent more successful just by following a few simple FUN principles?
Shedding old ideals and unlearning some of our programming is not a bad thing…And guess what? Imperfection is not going to kill us… It might just help us reach our goals and have fun doing it!
Finish Reigns Supreme! Give yourself the gift of done…
. . .
So, if you are anything like me, and you want to do things the perfectly human correct way and know your brand is stellar and you have fun enjoying the glorious feeling your product or service provides… It’s not just words, but an investment into your company and selling your dream in an elevated space with a human (as imperfectly perfect as she can be) connection.
Maybe this is you? Maybe a shedding of some preconceived notions about perfection could help bolster your business? Maybe we could shake up your brand story and get more eyeballs on your product? Maybe have a little bit of fun?
So, maybe let’s have a chat then?
On the call, we will look at what’s working and what’s not working. We will discuss the best course of action so you can move forward with ease and comfort (I mean I am no Jon Acuff with the seamless jokes and witty banter but I have my own humor and unique charms, I assure you…)
And then… if there’s a possibility to work together then we will make some time to chat about that as well…
Fact check: I strive for accuracy and fairness… if something is off, please send a shout! Kp@kpcopy.com
