Here I was again. In another one of those zoom calls where my head feels full of wet wool and every third word I hear sounds Russian.
I adore my tech/marketing advisor. Sadie is her name. And our brains are VERY different. That’s why I need her, isn’t it?
Her grace for me knows no bounds as my Enneagram 8, Type A (Myers-Briggs INTJ….how many more would you like?) mind starts to smoke and smolder with having to realign, readjust, revamp my keynote title.
It’s too “buttoned-up” and doesn’t reflect my sassy personality. What? Sassy? Me?
Being an entrepreneur (to me, anyway) feels like presenting food to Gordon Ramsey. You want his opinion. You need his expertise to get any better. He’s proven himself as an expert many times over not only as a cook but as a businessman.
But you know the drill. You present the dish you’ve sweated and slaved over. You’re so proud as you stand waiting for his approval. You know what happens next. He screams out all the errors, issues, and missteps of your dish. As you wonder if you’re outside his spit-range, the rant goes on until you’re questioning why you thought you were a good cook in the first place.
Of course, Sadie is MUCH kinder than Gordon Ramsey (thank God) but it’s hard to keep changing, adjusting, fixing. It feels like getting a large puzzle assembled, all the pieces seemingly snapped in place, only to have someone throw it up into the air. The pieces needed to fit another way.
How many times does life throw those curve balls? You think you finally have it together; finally read the OSHA manual, finally signed the client, finally learned how to dink in pickleball.
Then it changes. The manual publishes an update. The client agreement falls through. Your pickleball dinks don’t matter when you’re playing the Slammer Twins.
The expectations we set for ourselves play a large role in our happiness, peace, and life satisfaction. If you’re expecting to always have it together, not only is that delusional but life will throw those curve balls and you will be perpetually disappointed in yourself. Sounds fun.
When people think about boundaries, they frequently pull to mind the line between themselves and someone else – managing others’ expectations. But there is another level of boundaries – those we use to manage what we expect from ourselves.
For example, if you expect to always be perfect and have it all “on lock” then those curve balls are going to lay you out.
Instead, try these boundary blueprints:
- Adjust your expectations to fit the season you’re in.
- Control what you can; release what you can’t.
- Choose progress over perfection.
For enjoyment and inspiration, listen to my latest podcast!
