Annie--one of my best SF friends who used to allow me to boss her around at an ad agency where we used to work together--once taught me a good lesson about perfectionism. She spent a day at a fancy time management seminar because I suggested improving her time management skills in her quarterly job performance review. When she came back to the office the next day, I asked her, "What's the most useful thing you learned yesterday?"

Annie's reply to me was: "Perfectionists never get anything done. You need to let me make more mistakes."

Annie taught me a BIG lesson that day. Life is about progress, not perfection.

My mother says my perfectionist persona has plagued me since I was a small child. When I was two, I wanted to tie my own shoes and would end up hurling them against the wall in frustration because I couldn't do it without help. When I was four, I would get frustrated and tear pages out of the "big people" books on the bookshelf because I couldn't read the words by myself. When I was six, I nearly burnt my right ear off because I insisted on trying to curl my own hair with an electric curling iron. When I was 15, I nearly had a nervous breakdown when I had to tell my father I got a B on an algebra test. I actually started cheating on some of my math tests after that because I was totally petrified of not getting an A. My need to be perfect actually drove me to lie and cheat, which is completely against my nature.

Operating in perfection mode is exhausting. And for me, it's a set up for inactivity. It's also a form of scarcity thinking... thinking I'm not good enough.. my words aren't good enough... my message isn't good enough.

If I allow an endless circle of those limiting thoughts to ramble through my head for even just a few seconds, I start to believe it and shut myself down.

I really want to let go of this... right now. So should you.

Here's my new mantra for the week. I'm going to start each day by saying this out loud. And if I notice the perfectionist switch turn on at any point, I promise to stop, stand up and repeat this three times.

I am wonderful.
My words are fabulous.
I write hopeful messages full of light, love and faith.

How about you? Is there a limiting pattern of thinking that you'd like to release yourself from today?

If you'd like to join me in my personal mission to revive the giving spirit in the world, go sign up at 29Gifts.org. Just click on the sign up button, answer a few simple questions and you're on your way to giving your gifts to the world.

Good giving today. May you be the recipient of many gifts.