Perfection is such a hard task master. One that drains energy, laughter, inspiration and life out of any situation.

Of course it would - it's an impossible target constantly whispering "more, more". With pareto being a great guide - where you'll get 80% of the outcome with 20% of the effort and the remaining 20% of outcome taking an additional 80% effort!

When coaching clients my, albeit recent, recognition of the benefits of 'doing my best' versus aiming for 'perfection' is of no use to them.

Clients have to find their own relationship with 'perfection', and 'good enough', or what other alternatives to perfection they discover for themselves. 

The above picture is from a recent walk where a desire to let go of perfection led me to ask "what part of the current landscape best describes that desire?".

I then asked them to walk into that landscape and notice what they noticed.

With a choice of newly mown grass, well tended garden, woodland and beach it was interesting that they walked into a an area left to go wild.

There seemed to be a lot of "oh I see" and "that feels better" going on - only time will tell if their relationship with perfection has changed in a way to make a difference in their day to day life.

Analogy and metaphor is one element of the LANDSCAPE coaching and problem solving toolkit - tools that help you see situations from different perspectives. You'll certainly find me using nature often as a metaphor for our lives.

If you're interested in finding out more about 1:1 coaching to release perfection or other mindsets that hinder your success do get in touch alison@alisonsmith.co +44(0)7770 538159. If you're really clear of your intention this might be achieved in just 1 session.

Additionally you can sign up for my newsletter here or follow my Landscaping Your Life podcast on Apple, Spotify or other podcast apps. They both provide hints, tips, tools and ideas for how to see situations from a different perspective to open up options and opportunities available to you.