Oh Crap! – Musings of an Unperfect Mommy

The 3 P’s

March 6, 2018

I first heard about the 3 P’s in a talk by a homeschooling mom and it made me realize that I had a problem. I am a perfectionist. OK – that I knew, but what I didn’t know (well, maybe) was that my perfectionism led to procrastination that then led to paralysis. I may have talked about it before, but I think it bears repeating. So, let’s start with an example and yes, this is straight out of my own life. (BTW – if you wonder why you never get birthday cards, Christmas cards, or gifts on time from me – this explains it).

1. Perfectionism – I need a birthday card so I go to the store and look at 5,000 cards and finally decide I’ve wasted too much time looking at them and I really don’t like any of them so I’ll come back later. Guess what? Later never comes.

2. Procrastination – I know I need to get that birthday card but (here come the excuses): no time, can’t decide on the perfect one, and on and on. So, all this leads to:

3. Paralysis – Suddenly, two months go by as well as the holiday, birthday, special occasion. No matter how much I wanted to send something, it didn’t get done. And my good intentions are wasted and when I’m old I’ll be filled with regrets when I could have sent a damn card – any fucking card – with a nice letter in it to let that person know that I was thinking of them and how much they mean to me.

Get the picture? Good. I often feel bad and torture myself thinking of all the time I’ve wasted not doing things because nothing was perfect. And relationships most likely have suffered because of it. All of that needs to end.

So, here’s the homework assignment. Do you need to send a card to someone? Go to the store asap and PICK ONE. And if you really can’t find the right card, buy a pack of pretty plain cards (or basic manly ones if you’re a guy) and write a nice note inside that conveys to that person that you care about them. Don’t worry, the fact that you wrote to them will give the other person a warm fuzzy feeling and you’ll feel good too. So, let’s get out there, stop procrastinating and write that note, send that card/package, or pick up the phone and call someone. You’ll both be glad you did. :-)

2 comments
Comments

On March 6, 2018 at 9:37 AM, Matt said:

Good god, this hits too close to home...

On March 6, 2018 at 10:33 AM, java_queen said:

Ah - you must be just like mumsy...I'm sorry you got those perfectionist genes.

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» The 3 P’s » Oh Crap! – Musings of an Unperfect Mommy

The 3 P’s

March 6, 2018

Comments

On March 6, 2018 at 9:37 AM, Matt said:

On March 6, 2018 at 10:33 AM, java_queen said:

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