February 16th - Welcome to day 16 of the Myrrhmade Love Where You Are Challenge!
Come on in and join us!
Day 16: Make Progress
We all have had the experience of putting down a project and not taking it back up for a long time.
Today's challenge is to make progress on a long-term project that is weighing on you.
I know for myself that even taking a small action to progress those projects feels good but I still sometimes balk at what feels like the enormity of the remaining work.
So here's a nudge.
Similar to tackling nagging tasks and plugging up energy drains, long-term projects that get stalled can be easy to use as "proof" against ourselves and our capabilities.
No, not today reptile brain.
Today we make progress.
Daily Challenge: Make concrete progress on a long-term project.
It's easy to feel somehow "less than" if things don't go exactly according to plan.
Turns out that's actually how things work.
There's a wonderful book by Ryan Holiday called The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph (great summary article here) where he writes “There is no good or bad without us, there is only perception. There is the event itself and the story we tell ourselves about what it means.”
If you look for reasons to think that how things actually go are better than how you'd planned, you will find them.
So throw your monkey-brain a bit of banana, and take action.Order a part, make a phone call, but the piece, find the stuff.
Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Many of us have a perfectionist streak (or only a streak that isn't) and it can be cripiling. It's easy to let our brains get away with keeping us small and safe because not perfect = death... right?
Daily Mindset Mantra: Progress Not Perfection
This is a mantra that has helped me so many times over the years. It's a quick reframe for when we find ourselves frustrated that things are progressing more slowly than we'd prefer.
The truth is that no matter how slow you're going, forward momentum is worth celebrating!
Bonus task: Celebrate your wins!
In addition to seeing how far you've come, celebrate even baby steps forward. If we cheer ourselves on, how much easier will it be to love where you are? Do we talk down to babies as they learn to walk because they haven't done it yet? When a friend starts to do something that will help them be healthier do we tell them they're stupid that they haven't done more? (Gosh, I hope not...)
In order to steer your own brain, you need to treat yourself as a beloved friend. Not there yet? No matter, our brains let it all in, they don't stop and ask for credentials. You can find your self-belief through your actions just as we use our actions to prove our lack of self-belief.
My experience: I really didn't want to do this one. We've had a rough couple of days but these challenges are just as much for me to upgrade my mindset as anyone.
So I did it. I got off my bum and made progress on a long-term project. I hit a few snags and a few dead ends but I moved a few steps forward. I could berate myself for leaving it there or I can celebrate that I did some of it.
In January, I had a lovely adventure with this door and some ...interesting experiences with the door that was there before.
And then the trim boards sat there, slightly inconveniencing the light switch. I could have moved them, sure. However, I've found I'm more likely to do it if the pieces are annoyingly in the way, (sorry love).
Today I resized the top trim piece, and reattached the top and left side pieces.
The right hand piece has some serious wall anchors through it which I couldn't see how to remove without ripping the board to pieces and I couldn't find another piece to replace it.
I then worked on the inside trim - I resized and hung the top and left trim pieces and then hit a snag with the right. The trim, baseboard, and beadboard all need to be trimmed about 3/4" and I didn't have time or energy left to figure out how to do that without ripping the wall.
Progress, not perfection.
How did you do?
Make sure to check back here tomorrow for the next challenge, the next tips, and the next dose of the Myrrhmade Love Where You Are Challenge.
#myrrhmade #lovewhereyouarechallenge
Which one to tackle first? There are so many things that fall into this category. While I think and muster courage, I wanted you to know that I think I might have the tool you need for that trimming.
ReplyDeleteDeep breaths, slow progress is still progress. There may also be some delegation possible... :hugs:
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