During my first classes of
sewing, I found myself battling with the perfectionist in me. Although, being a
perfectionist may come in handy at times, it is also very distractive and
destructive if not handled with care. I had to do a shirt’s cuff four times,
until I got it right. Moreover, while I was inserting oversized sleeves onto
the bodice, I couldn’t do it with accuracy. I started feeling overwhelmed by a
feeling of despair and annoyance, as to why I couldn’t stitch the thing in a
straight line and I was too tired to unpick it for the third time. In my
despair I went to speak to my lecturer (a mighty woman of God with a heart of
gold -if you dig deep enough to get to know her-). She is one of the most
amazing humans I have ever come across. So I went to her in panic mode since
the deadline was close and this sample wasn’t sewn to perfection. I felt
defeated and told her how I thought that maybe I wasn’t good at this, maybe I
wasn’t talented enough I should have stuck with Macroeconomics. She said ‘be
careful about how you speak to yourself’. I took a moment to let that sink in.
I mean I had been sewing for just 2 days, what did I expect?
There was perfectionism standing
between me and my dreams. Perfectionism is an ill, a hindrance to progress. I
found myself angry at myself for not being accurate, soon enough I was impatient
and I let doubt creep in. The problem with zooming in on the negative is that
you get stuck with a negative image of yourself. You zoom in on the weakness,
obstacles and challenges. These feelings soon enough turn into doubts and doubts turn into
fear. The moment fear succumbs your being, you are overwhelmed and life becomes
a blur, and just like that you can give up on your dreams. Instead of giving
into my fears, I decided to sew a top with no pattern. It wasn't perfect but for the sake of progress I did it. One has to conquer their fear of inadequacy and seize the
opportunity when it presents itself.
Although practice makes perfect, even if you are a result driven person like me, there are a few life lessons
to learn:
- · It’s important not to undermine small beginnings- there lays the gold of knowledge from mistakes and the stamina of a dream chaser.
- · It’s important to be grateful for the glass before you see it as half full or half empty.
- · It’s important to not overlook small victories and milestones, be grateful for those.
- · It’s important to not be scared to fail. Failure is part of the process, the earlier you conquer the fear of failure, the higher the chances of succeeding.
- · Think of the most efficient way you can overcome a challenge instead of giving into panic and anxiety.
- · Give it your all or don’t do it at all.
- · If you have big dreams and aspirations, there shall never be perfect conditions. If you are to start losing weight, a business, quit a bad habit, break up with an abusive person, do it now.
- · Be disciplined, self-control is crucial, join the army if need be (just joking).
- · Break down your goals into short-term goals and work towards the big picture.
- · Live one day at a time, just so you may not feel overwhelmed with the worries of tomorrow.
- · Start small, start slowly, but start.
- · Believe in your magic, a setback is not the end of your story.
- · Like the little boy, in the bible, who fed 5000 men out of 5 loaves; do not despise your humble beginnings and what can come out of the little you have.
Shirt: Thrifted
Blazer: Thrifted
Boots: Mr Price
Love and Light!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment