I mentioned in a recent post that I’ve been doing some work on myself over the last year or two.
It hasn’t exactly been easy getting myself from an under-confident mum-of-two to “Superwoman Physio and Pilates Extraordinaire” (or something like that).
But there have been some HUGE learns along the way that I think can benefit everyone, wherever they’re at in life – you included.
Especially if you’re someone who’s guilty of delaying taking action…
Or trying to do everything in a perfectionist way…
That’s certainly where I used to be, busy worrying about doing things rather than actually doing them. So here’s what I asked myself, and I’d recommend you do the same if you recognise these feelings.
The simple strategy to get you
from action-delayer to action-slayer
Why haven’t you taken action yet?
What’s going through your head when you think about the task at hand?
Are you worried? Fearful? Not ready? Need more energy? Is the task just too big?
Our brains feed us stories like this all the time – it’s our job to present some evidence to the contrary.
So once you’ve gone through the reasons why you can’t achieve whatever your target is right now, try thinking about the ways in which you ARE ready instead.
Tell yourself exactly why you are already capable:
- Remind yourself of the similar tasks you’ve completed previously
- Remember all the hard things you’ve done in the past too
- Be specific in the memories you focus on, that’s your evidence right there!
You might surprise yourself to find that the barriers your brain puts up aren’t actually viable.
Wherever you get to with this exercise, it’s not likely any of us will ever feel totally “ready” to get started on something new, even if we accept that we might be capable.
Shaking off perfectionism and throwing yourself in
Now this is where shaking off perfectionism comes in!
What if you just cracked on just where you are now, using whatever time you have available to yourself?
This is exactly how I’ve started writing these rambling blogs, sending out messy emails, posting imperfect videos of me with my hair scraped back…
I might not feel like I’m able to get everything done “perfectly” – but by throwing myself into messy, IMperfect action, I’m achieving way more as a result.
It’s what helped me just “crack on” with my tax return and get it done.
It’s what’s got me moving my body in a way that feels good – even if it isn’t Instagram-worthy.
And it’s helped more people in and around Shoreham to access proper Physiotherapy and Pilates wherever they’re at too.
Just last week one of my Pilates attendees joined in from holiday on her phone. She was late, she had no laptop, no equipment – but she threw herself in anyway and we were all so glad that she did!
But I don’t think anyone was as glad as SHE was.
And that’s the beauty of messy, imperfect action – it allows you to achieve more without having to change yourself first.
So what can you take messy, imperfect action on today? I’d love to know, drop me a message!
And if you’ve got fifteen minutes, why not throw yourself into some exercise with this short, simple Pilates routine? No comments about my hair please!