Small Mistakes, Big Reactions
Moving Past Mistakes & Perfectionism
Your Journal Prompts This Week:
How do I feel when I make a mistake*?
When in my life has a mistake stopped or delayed me from taking further action on something I cared about?
How can I show myself more compassion for my mistakes?
*Note: When I speak of mistakes in this message, I refer to those types of mistakes that do not put anyone’s life at risk or threaten anyone’s physical or psychological safety.
Mistakes happen because we’re human, but all my fellow perfectionists out there know that we try very hard to avoid them—and very hard to correct them, if need be—both consciously and unconsciously.
I must confess, this is another set of journal prompts inspired by Olympic Figure Skating. (Don’t worry, the Olympics have come to an end, so this will likely be the last of the series!) Specifically, this is inspired by all those skaters who, even after a startling or unexpected fall, get right back up and keep skating. You might see the disappointment on their faces when they end the program, but during it, they are focused on reaching that finish line. One mistake won’t stop them from finishing what they came there to do. It doesn’t stop them from sharing their talent and something they love to do with the world.
My goal may not be to win an Olympic medal, but I think that’s a mentality I could benefit from. What if we all had this level of resiliency when it came to our own goals and dreams, both on the yoga mat and off?
I’ve watched myself and many others stop suddenly in their tracks when they see something is less than perfect or is not living up to their standards or vision:
They stop meditating or avoid a certain element of their yoga practice because they fell behind on it, couldn’t complete it in its entirety, or couldn’t get it just right.
They delay sharing something they’ve created with the world, or worse yet, not sharing it at all because it isn’t yet perfect.
This would be the equivalent of a figure skater falling and either staying down or just walking off the ice, deciding it isn’t worth it to share the rest of their program (assuming of course they were not seriously injured in the fall itself). But that skater likely had so much more in their program that could be appreciated and enjoyed and so many more possible points to earn if they had continued to skate.
Much like these Olympic athletes, we can’t keep earning the points if we just walk away. We can’t share the beauty that awaits beyond the mistake if we don’t keep moving forward.
Take some time to explore how you typically deal with the little mistakes or wrong turns you make along your journey, whether that is your journey with your yoga practice or with your own personal goals. Perhaps what you see in this exploration can help you develop a better system that lifts you up after a mistake, rather than keeping you down.
I encourage you to imagine all that you can create—all that WE can each create—if we keep moving forward, despite our moments of imperfection.
With much love & gratitude,
Marcy
Practice with me anytime with the free Embodied Reading Yoga & Journaling Series or try the Honor Your Pace Yoga & Journaling Series.