PERFECTIONISM

Perfectionism.  Hmmm, you may have noticed I have not posted a blog in a while.  Not because nothing has been happening this summer. Oh My! Betty Brewer’s Angels volunteers have been busy! But more about that in future blog postings.

Today I want to discuss perfectionism. You see, the excuse I have been telling myself for not writing is that I have been too busy with personal life events which occurred this summer.  However, the truth is I want each blog post to be perfect.  Since they never will be due to my perceived lack of writing skills and difficulty navigating the blog layout, I have not written.

 Photo not of me, although I do wish I had her "perfect" hair! LOL! 

Have you found yourself putting off doing something because you do not think you will be perfect at it?  Do you always feel like you are failing no matter what you do?  Perfectionism!  A ruler we humans use to measure ourselves and everyone else.  This perfectionism can creep into all aspects of our lives (yes, even relationships,) and keep us from living rewarding, productive, and dare I say, joyful, lives.  

Oftentimes I hear volunteers say “I can’t volunteer because I do not have your personality…I am not like you.”  HA!  This one always makes me laugh because they do not know the depth of my inner struggles with perfectionism in all areas of my life.  So many times I have witnessed people putting off their life dreams, ambitions, or just simple wants by saying "I am not good enough", "I am not interesting enough" "I am not".... the reasons go on and on but I think the truth is people think they are not perfect enough.The reality with Betty Brewer's Angels is there is no perfect.  Each one of us is created as a unique and wonderful human being with our own talents, personalities, and appearances.  And I am thinking that most of us believe we are not good enough in at least one of those areas. The result of those thoughts is we are blocked from being all we were created to be.

  

With Betty Brewer’s Angels “There Is No Cookie-Cutter Volunteer”.  We all bring our special, different selves to our visits with the residents of long term care facilities.  Each of the relationships our volunteers have with the resident they visit is unique.  Some volunteers watch tv shows with their resident, others do crafts, others read to the resident, others sing, others visit over a cup of coffee. The “look” of our visits is as dissimilar as we are. 

If you want some answers to combat those inner voices telling you have to be perfect, google the word Perfectionism.  You are going to be surprised about how many articles and books address this subject.   You could spend an entire afternoon just reading the articles published in the Huffington Post on this subject.  One of my favorite quotes is from an article Tamar Chansky, Psycholgist; Author of ‘Freeing Yourself from Anxiety: 4 Simple Steps to Overcome Worry and Create the Life You Want’, wrote for the Huffington Post.  Her quote: “The opposite of perfection isn’t imperfection or mediocrity: it’s reality.”                      

                             Don’t you just love that?!

  If you have a caring heart and are NOT perfect, but have been thinking you want to serve others more, we would love to talk to you about becoming a Betty Brewer’s Angel. We have men and women volunteers.  Just contact me at www.bettybrewersangels@wowway.com  or 614-309-4677 for more information.

BBA volunteers establish a one-on-one relationship with residents of long-term care facilities by visiting with them every week.