As a Success Mentor, I’ve been having so much fun with my clients and students. However, I’ve noticed a definite trend of a lethally limiting belief that has been holding them back from prosperity.
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This belief is perfectionism.
When we operate from the energy of trying to be perfect, we are actually operating from the energy of lack and limitation. What we’re communicating is that what we’re putting out there, tangible or intangible, is somehow wrong, not good enough, or needing correction. Yuck!
My past has been full of challenges with perfectionism. When it was time to send out a newsletter for my company, I would first draft it as a template or outline. Then, I’d design graphics and write the content. Finally, I would reread it over and over again before finally pressing the send button. This sometimes took days or even weeks. And if we’re honest here, sometimes it never got sent.
The whole process was so exhausting that I procrastinated often and ended up hardly ever sending a newsletter out.
We often create habits and processes that seem full of abundance and productivity, when really, they are the exact opposite. They imprison us from the very prosperity we strive so hard for. My motto today is “Make money the easy thing!” And myself and my clients and students are living proof this is possible.
However, I was operating out of so much fear, lack and limitation—and I expected these newsletters to bring me an abundance of new clients? How does that work?
When we look a bit closer at perfectionism, it starts to appear pretty backwards. When we peel back its layers, we start to understand that it is actually self-sabotaging.
It’s better to have something out there and done than perfect. This is a phrase that is worth repeating. (Again, and again, and again, and anytime feelings of perfection arise!)
It’s better to be out there and done than perfect.
One of my old habits of perfectionism brought me more agony than perfection.
I used to be a “perfect” cleaner. For example, all my clothes were put away color coordinated. I even arranged them by the season and cut. I even folded my underwear, color coded them and sorted them by cut and fit. Same with the socks! Putting away my laundry was an agonizing ordeal.
I really enjoyed a neat space, but it wasn’t very evident by the look of my bedroom floor.
Okay, confession time…
(I get butterflies about this skeleton in my closet… Pun totally intended!)
I used to put my brand new, freshly clean laundry on my bedroom floor. I told myself I would eventually take care of it, but instead I would just pull clothes from it and never put it away!
Here I am—a bit of a neat freak, perfectionist—with a pile of clean laundry on my floor. It took me far too long to understand the reasons behind this paradox.
My unconscious mind was trying to protect me from the suffering involved in having to perfectly put away my clothes. The unconscious mind is not logical at all. Generally speaking, it moves away from pain and towards pleasure. In my mind, I had linked putting away my laundry with agonizing perfectionism. Since I’ve abandoned my borderline OCD, perfectionist ways, my laundry always gets put away neatly (and my clients are abundant!).
In fact, my life is so much neater, cleaner and tidier since I gave up perfectionism.
Jokes on me, right? I spent most of my life trying to clean and organize my space perfectly and actually ended up with a messy space. Now that I’ve abandoned my need to do everything perfectly and be perfect, my space is always so blissfully organized and tidy.
This same principle applies to money. Wealth is an inside job. Attempting to manifest wealth from a vibration of “perfect,” is really just manifesting from the energy of lack, limitation, suffering, “not good enough” and other B.S. feelings. The end result is just a manifestation of the things that we want to protect ourselves from. Amazing, right?
It’s important for us to get comfortable being visible and putting it out there, imperfections and all! We have to be energetically visible for wealth to find us.
Not to mention, the more authentically we are ourselves and not trying to be who we think we should be, the more magnetic we are to success.
Imperfections are perfect for me!
There are many activities that are helpful in overcoming perfectionism. My favorite is practicing imperfection intentionally over the course of a week. Here are some examples:
1. Instead of rereading an email three times before sending it, just press send without rereading. The same can go for a blog post, social media post, newsletter, etc.
2. Getting past the attachments to the perfect makeup or outfit can be a tough one. Start out with one outing at a time. Abandon all expectations! For example, I will step out in a clothing ensemble I love to wear around the house when it’s just me, but wouldn’t dare wear on a first date. I let people see me, the cozy me, the real me.
3. Try posting a picture to social media that doesn’t look like a perfectly planned, magazine photo opt. Instead, post a more true, real life action shot!
4. If my old pattern of “perfect cleaning” sounds familiar, try tidying up an area imperfectly. Go ahead, be a little crazy. Mix the colorful socks in with the white ones.
Most importantly, have fun with this challenge. Let yourself be more than enough and watch the success miracles and money magnetism roll in.
Grow, baby! Have a perfectly imperfect day.
And if you need a little more help with creating Success with Ease, reach out. Money can be the fun thing full of ease.
Ashley Maven is a Success Mentor that inspires others to step out of their self-imposed prisons and into wholeness, wealth and joy. By the age of 20, Ashley was prescribed 11 psychoactive medications to treat a lifetime of emotional suffering. It wasn’t until she learned how to tend to her inner world and create new unconscious resources that she could truly heal her lifetime of panic, anxiety and depression and step into a life of true, lasting happiness and success.
Now, as a Life and Success Coach, and Psychoneurologist (with a strong celebrity clientele), Ashley proves that happiness and wealth are skills that anyone can learn. Through her many specializations and mastery of the unconscious and conscious minds.
Ashley leads her clients to radical lasting transformations, wealth, joy, and thriving. Through fun and authentic interaction, Ashley works with her clients to create lives where miracles are expected and money flows freely— and she loves it! Her philosophy is pretty simple: reality is just a mirror of what’s inside of you. If you transform your inner world, you can create your desired outer world. You don’t have to pick and choose the blessings in your life. You can have all!
To schedule your complimentary consultation and learn more about Ashley and her work please visit www.AshleyMaven.com