For Today, February 22nd

For Today: February 22^nd

The maxim, “Nothing avails but perfection,” may be spelled “Paralysis.”
Sir Winston Churchill

How long will the wallpaper in the bedroom hang down like lopping tongues? Why don’t I fix it—or have it fixed?

Because I want to do the job perfectly. I want the best, the prettiest, the most elegant wallpaper in the world. But where am I going to find it? Just thinking about looking through stacks and stacks of patterns for the perfect one stops me in my tracks. Which is why the wallpaper stays as it is and I keep the bedroom door closed.

Where does the need to be perfect come from? It’s true that if I don’t do anything, no one can criticize my lack of taste or whatever it is I think I ought to have. But the harshest and most unrelenting critic of all is me; I see that wallpaper every day and I hate the slob who forces me to live that way.

For Today: Perfectionism is another obsession, and I pray to be relieved of it. I do the necessary footwork by taking one small step toward a project or activity I have been putting off.

Perfectionsim=Paralysis. Who said I had to be perfect? I guess I did. But what is Perfection? An impossible quest is what it is. When I tell myself I have to do something Perfectly, I set myself up to fail before I even start! I am able to stay committed to my Food Plan without being perfect.

For most of my life, I’ve hated the slob who forced me to live  as a Perfectionist. I put off doing everything that need to GET done because of my Perfectionism. I had closets that needed cleaning, drawers that needed organizing, a life that was in chaos because I had to do everything Perfectly or not at all.

Perfectionism is another way to describe the All Or Nothing Mentality that keeps most overweight people in its grip. If I eat a cookie, I feel I have given myself permission to eat a whole bag of cookies. Since I’ve already ‘blown my diet’, why not blow it all the way?

Through the teachings of OA, I have been able to give up my perfectionist ways; I’ve been able to ditch my All-Or-Nothing mentality & free myself of those burdens of Extreme.

I can live my life in 24 hour segments. During that 24 hour segment, I can take on a small project & put a plan of action into place. Whether it be cleaning out a section of my closet, or creating a menu for dinner the next evening. I can stop looking at tomorrow & appreciate today for what it is.

One Today is Worth Two Tomorrows.