#12 EVOLVE: A conclusion

I hope you really got something out of this series, that it really moved you to begin a change in your life. I know it did for me. But if there’s something that’s true of any lasting change, it’s that it will take time to really develop. It might be that these ideas are like a seed, planting deep inside of you to grow into something beautiful with enough time. It may also be that you have had your “aha!” moment through some of these ideas. Either way, I hope this has been well worth your time to read. 

You know, as I conclude the writing of this series, I realize that there is still much to be done in this area of life. It’s so easy to be hard on yourself, especially in the name of development. But the more you beat yourself up, the more worthwhile it would be to look into why you are this way. Explore your thoughts when you are feeling most down on yourself. When you are the most angry with how you handled something, start to pick apart why. Then go back and find out how far back this pattern goes. You may find that there’s something there worth examining. 

But back to our theme, the word for this series is evolve. I hope you have gotten a clearer picture of how to evolve beyond perfectionism. The key is to be fuelled by passion and maintained by grace. Forgive yourself not because those details don’t matter, but because if you let go of them, they won’t be able to stop you. The key difference between a perfectionist and a master is not in the problems they see, but how they handle them. Sometimes you just need to accept that things aren’t going to be ideal. Does that mean things are alright? Hardly! It just means you aren’t going to let that stain on your shirt or your unpolished skillset keep you from doing the work you need to do. 

But ultimately, that capacity to improve is a good one. Maybe the best thing is to bring others in close to help you grow and leave the self-criticism at the doorstep. Hang out with some people who you would like to be like and get them to correct you. I know it feels like you can’t always find those kinds of people in your life, but if you began the search for them, you might be able to find one or two. Maybe you already have someone around you that you could ask for a little more intentional time with. Who knows? You may start a whole new chapter in your life!

And that’s where I pray you find yourself: in a whole new chapter, ready to evolve into someone entirely brand new. I pray you go from obsessing over making sure everything goes perfectly, to reaching for the goal you want to achieve. Sure, hard work is a good thing, but look at the price you are paying to get there. A perfectionist isn’t always fun to be around, so I pray you learn to master the art of grace and offer it to yourself and others. 

And there you have it, the end of another good series. I pray this chapter has found you well, and that you tune into my next series. To give you a little sneak peek, I’m going to be doing some reflecting. It’ll be a little bit of storytelling from these last two years, a little bit of extrapolating, and a little mix of the two in between. I’m looking forward to where some of these ideas lead us and what we wind up discovering. 

I pray this post has found you well, and I will catch you on the next one!

Until next time

May Peace be your Guide.