My kitchen has been under remodel for 4 years. Here’s my brains’ Greatest Hits that kept me from finishing literally 5 hours of painting for the last 1.5 years. 

It’s going to take so much time. 

There’s so much work. 

There’s so much that needs done. 

I hate this kitchen.

F*ck this kitchen.

This is never going to get done. 

Lo and behold, I never did it. I wanted to do it though. I wanted it done. 

So I walked through what needed to be done, what would be done to be considered B- work, and how long it would take me. 

I told myself 5 hours (this included cleanup). Next, I decided when I was going to do it. I decided the following Saturday was the day to finish it. I decided on the time. 10am -3pm. I made sure I knew where my materials were and had them ready.

I even woke up at 7 to enjoy “me” time FIRST. I had a ton of objections of course, my brain tried to talk me out of it Friday evening, but I told my brain I wanted to do this.  My brain tried to drag me down the night before with “Do we really have to do this?” and the morning of with “OMG there’s so much to do!”. But doing anything is just doing things one step at a time until it’s done. No matter what way you look at it. So I walked into my kitchen that morning..

And I just showed up. I practiced the thoughts:

 “It is going to feel amazing for the kitchen to be done”. 

“B- work is still done”. 

“B- work is better than 0% work”

I imagined what I would feel when it’s done so I could hijack the dopamine loop ahead of time to borrow the feeling I wanted to drive my action through. I created the result of my kitchen being done in my mind and my actions followed through. 

Guess how long it took me with cleanup and wiping everything down? 5 hours. Exactly. 

All because I DECIDED. I decided when, I calendared it, I made sure I had my materials, and I enjoyed myself listening to music, and singing. I made it fun. I made it exciting.

I celebrated by telling myself I’m proud of myself for showing up and doing this, ate ribs, and spent quality time with my partner. 

Perfectionism will not rule my life, I will. So often we think something is wrong with us and I’m here to tell you that just isn’t the case. What holds us back is our thoughts.

When we think something is going to be hard or take a long time, we usually avoid it or just plain not do it. What this does though, is “prove” to yourself how long it’s going to take because you are literally waiting, making it take a longer amount of time. So then you always believe your thoughts that “it will take a long time” when they come up and never stop to challenge them.

As a life coach, I can help you identify what’s holding you back from truly getting the things you want – whether it’s finishing your kitchen, changing careers, hitting a new PR, losing weight, or loving yourself.

P.S. If you struggle with perfectionism, not starting, or not following through on something you really want to do, BEEN THERE. Set up a discovery call under ‘Book A Call’ to figure out how I can help you get the things you want in life. We will go through what you want help on, do a little coaching, and see if we would be a good fit working together!

If you’re not ready for a call, you can get my FREE download – How to Set Any Goal under FREE GIFT.

Tiny changes and imperfect action friends!