Perfectionism Be Gone...A Lesson in Painting My Front Door

One of my biggest life lessons is in letting go of the desire for perfection. In my earlier years, I was very much a Type A type of person.....always scheduling things, always on time, always planning my next project. In my mid-30's (and after having children), I started experimenting with being a Type B type of person.....going with the flow, arriving late to a party every now and then, and seeing how plans developed naturally. I am enjoying this new way of being.... so much so that I am now even experimenting with being a Type C type of person, particularly when it comes to cleaning my house.  :)

I am happy that I am now better able to be whatever type I need to be in any given situation. At the same time, I realize that procrastination can set in if I lean too far to the Type B side of my personality. And this is compounded when my desire for perfection sneaks in. Case in point....my front door.

I have been planning to paint our front door for a month now. The supplies have been sitting in our basement since then. I have been telling myself the story that I want the door to look amazing because, of course, it is the first thing that our guests will see. There are a bunch of imperfections in the door and so "fixing those up" seemed really important to me.

Last week, I finally jumped in and painted the first coat. I liked how it looked but it was obvious that it needed a second and final coat. Days went by without me going near the paintbrush. "What if it doesn't look the way I want it to? What if people can see all the imperfections? What if I don't like the final color? I don't really feel like taking the time to paint it again if it doesn't look right." So many stories in my head that led me to avoid finishing the project.

Today, I let go of the drama and began trusting the process. I picked up the paintbrush and finished the job. And I love it (imperfections and all)!

The door used to be the color of the blue in the Welcome sign.