Burn-Out

I was taking stock of my life yesterday and came to the important conclusion that I'm teetering on the brink of burn-out. I can't imagine why. Let's think.

* I have four children.

* One of them is two.

* I homeschool.

* I write book and movie reviews.

* I'm an author.

* I blog.

* I'm a housewife.

* I'm a Scout leader.

* I own my own business.


It's not so much that I have a lot on my plate, although I do. My main issue is that I have a need to do everything perfectly. I get that from my mother. If we're given an assignment, we both feel the need to do it to the absolute best of our ability. This makes us wonderful chairpersons, presidents and leaders, but it also makes us looney, daffy and grumpy. (Yes, we're having a Warner Brothers meets Disney moment.)

Why this ever-pressing need to be perfect? Isn't it okay to do a good job without having to do a superlatively fabulous job?

I read Donny Osmond's book and one thing he said really struck me. He had such a fierce desire to be perfect that it was causing him social anxiety disorder every time he'd perform, fearing he wouldn't be good enough. He said the thing that helped him the most was hearing his wife say that it was okay to do a good job and leave it at that. He gave himself permission to give a little less, and it freed him up to do even better.

So I'm going to try that for a little while. I can do a good job without having to be perfect. I give myself permission to relax and to stop worrying about all the things that are going to slip through the cracks. Chances are, they weren't all that important anyway.