“Every artist was first an amateur.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

I read (and loved) this quote today.

How many times do we let perfectionism stop us from doing something? ?I know I’m guilty of it. That desire to be really good at something can sometimes get in the way of remembering that it can take some time to learn a new skill or to perfect an existing one – and that’s ok. As long as we always remember that great NLP motto “There’s no failure, only feedback”, being an amateur is the first step to success.

A diamond starts out as carbon. It certainly isn’t perfect in the beginning.

I often see clients who suffer from what I call big wooden stick syndrome. The one where lots of?things in their lives become big sticks to beat themselves with. You might recognise it? Sometimes it?manifests?itself as an internal voice constantly reminding you that you’re not doing it right, not achieving enough, not as good as other people. For others it can be a feeling of failure or procrastination. This feeling at its extreme can lead to depression and a whole heap of ways that you don’t achieve what you are capable of.

I recently heard someone wise say to me “perfectionism is a?disease, you know?”. ?Well that made me stop and think! And I agree. I like to do things well and occasionally not being able to results in an inaction in?that?area. It is often easier to see things in others more than in yourself and I’m lucky in that I have a network of Cognitive Hypnotherapists that I can call on so clear that particular stick from my cupboard.

If you feel uncomfortable with being an amateur at something as you learn and perhaps even have that disease called perfectionism, why not do something about it? How much more could you achieve if you left the big stick and the fear at the door?

Contact me today to see how Cognitive Hypnotherapy can help.