The school I went to while I was growing up had this sign in front of the secretary’s office that said, “If you do it right the first time, you won’t have to do it a second time.” At the time, I thought this was extremely insightful, but now I see it has some issues. Perfection is the enemy of done. I used to wonder how some people did so many things so quickly. Here’s what I’ve learned. 

When you have to do everything perfectly, you make everything so much of a task that it drains you mentally before you even begin to accomplish it.

 It’s kind of like how we think of writer’s block. If nothing’s on the paper, how can there ever be anything on the paper.

And how are we taught to conquer writer’s block? You just start writing anything that pops into your mind. Our lives should be full of edits. We don’t get it right the first time. Just like writing, with almost anything in our lives, we can make edits. If you don’t like how you handle a situation, take a note and learn from it – make an edit to your character. You have the power to change how you handle future situations!

For the sake of a silly example, I was raking the yard the other day, and it occurred to me why in the world it was taking so long to get a single section done. What’s the point if I can’t get every leaf? Raking leaves should be something that’s done more than once and therefore, can be learned and made better over time.

We were taught by 90s movies that if we want to change we have to hit our breaking point hard and completely flip our life on its head overnight. *Queue the crazy inspirational 90s song. You watch a few scenes, and the character is where and who they want to be in life. What I’ve realized recently is that these things usually happen quietly on a micro level in our every day lives. If we pay attention, and make small changes over time to the tasks we are doing or the attitudes we are having, we won’t have to have the dramatic life change that you see in the movie.

I have a lot of regrets in my life, but, by the grace of God, I’ve also seen a lot of progress in becoming the person of character that I desire to become. We make small moves and changes everyday that either depreciate our character or build it. One day you’ll look back and either see that you are closer to the person you want to be than you’ve ever been, or you will wonder what happened.

Samantha Brand Consultant

A message from the author

Hi! My name’s Sam. I am the owner and founder of Foreknown Creative, and I would love to help you build a presence for your business that you will not only love the look of but that will also connect with your clients in a way that will build brand trust and loyalty for years to come. I live my dream by helping you reach and exceed yours! Ready to take the first step?

Foreknown Creative is branding and web design company based in Chattanooga, TN.