Expecting the perfect holiday, Christmas, feast, celebration or event

Oh the pressure!

All of those images and articles, news reports, retail displays, advertising campaigns and other external standards hurtling at us, telling us what we should be doing, buying, gifting, giving, receiving, eating, preparing and ... expecting.

They’re all just trying to sell us something and make us strive for a better or 'more perfect' Christmas or holiday season.

Don’t believe it! You don’t need to buy in to any of the BS at this - or any time of the year - that you don't want to. Just do your thing.

The way you like to do it. You are good enough just as you are and whatever you’re planning for Christmas or the holidays or next year ... is good enough!

Do your thing. Perfection doesn’t exist and any belief we have that it does exist is what keeps pumping out those pictures and unrealistic standards! Go for good enough and it will all be plenty plenty good enough. Stay safe and take care X

What reading will you do to prepare you for the future

The Institute for the Future continues to urge us to prepare for the future skills we'll require to cope with uncertainty, change and new ways of working. If you can't zip out of the office to complete a 'Future of Work Diploma', what are you doing to educate yourself so you're ready? Over the weekend, during the week, on holidays, people often find gaps in the day - after breakfast, waiting in the car, in airport queues, after dinner, waiting for the weather to change/clear/change again.

All of these times - and more - are opportunities to be taking on bite-sized chunks of insight and learning.

Our brain loves this; much better than cognitively overloading ourselves or filling up our sponges with too much information in one hit.

So, what are you reading... and planning to read?

Here are some ideas for you I've worked on over the past six years...

(Hey pssst! The purple one is available for FREE download via my website; the others, where you usually get your books or via my website).

ISH - Finalist in Business Book Awards

Great to be a finalist in The Australian Business Book Awards for 'ISH: The Problem with our Pursuit for Perfection and the Life-Changing Practice of Good Enough’ - a big thanks to Scott Eathorne for helping get the message out there about the perils of perfectionism.

There is an alternative to the overthinking and overworking that is making us miserable, anxious and unwell. So many media outlets picked up the message: including podcasters, radio broadcasters, TV, industry journals, print media, magazines, book reviewers. ‘ish: The Problem with our Pursuit for Perfection and the Life-Changing Practice of Good Enough’ is available as - paperback - audio book - e book

Willing to start

So many ideas, so little time. It’s a feeling we can have that can make us not even bother with the work of putting any of our ideas out there. But they’re not really ideas until they are ‘out there’. Until then they are just thoughts.

So on the theme of 'willing' : ready, keen and eager ... are you willing to - start? Perfectionists among us hold off on pressing ‘go’ or registering the domain, writing the blog or making the call. Yet we’re willing to think and imagine for hours, potentially days. And not act. Waiting, wondering, rehearsing, imagining. All that mental and creative effort that never gets a return on our investment of time.

How about we be willing? Yes, we don’t know the outcome; and yes, we can’t control it. But the products we buy, the services we use and the people we admire have all required someone who was willing to start.

Will you? Won’t you?

Willing to learn

Plenty of people spruik 'fail fast' and 'failure is sexy' messages, trying to make us learn to love, like or just tolerate failure. But I don't think we want to. We resist failure. It's natural.

We don't want to be associated with stuff that didn't work or things that could ruin our current or future career or reputation.

So how about learning? OK, now we have something to work with. Not as scary as failing; still insightful and full of lessons. And possibly, some tough lessons.

Could we be more willing to learn?

Willing; it means prepared, ready, eager. If we are, we'll be more able to adapt, change, respond and try new things ... demonstrating more ease and less resistance.

Organisations in a constant state of change need more people who are willing to learn. When you take on a new role, start a new project, work in a new team or move to a new neighbourhood, there's plenty of learning up for grabs.

Learning doesn't make us bad, weak, unskilled or irrelevant. In fact, our ability and willingness TO learn is an advantage.

Be willing to learn, more than you are - be prepared, ready, eager. Show more ease and less resistance to learning.