All or Nothing

"Is it all...or nothing at all? There's nowhere left to fall, when you reach the bottom, it's now or never..."

Congratulations to me. I now have that good ol' O-Town song stuck in my head.

I've been reading Richard Winter's book Perfecting Ourselves to Death, and one of the most interesting ideas he challenges readers to consider is the "all or nothing syndrome" that a lot of perfectionists suffer from. 

"Always."

"Never."

"Every time." 

"Not once."

It's so easy to start using these words out of context. 

I didn't get into one grad school? I'll never be good enough. I made a mistake in my job? Every time I try something new, I fail. I said something I regretted? I always say the wrong thing. Someone let me down? Not once have they been there for me.

One of my biggest challenges this year is learning to be realistic in a positive sense, not just a pessimistic sense. To learn how not to be so deeply wounded by every failure or every mistake. To be okay with improving in baby steps. 

"Baby steps to the elevator...baby steps onto the elevator" ... now I have What About Bob stuck in my head as well. I hate that movie. And what a combination.  "Is it all, or baby steps down the hall? There's nowhere left to babystep when they lose the power, it's stairs or nothing."

I'm going to stop now, and go start charting my next set of baby steps. Although, I still think it might be all or nothing when it comes to the amount of love or hate people feel for the Oscars. Just a thought, y'all. 

Cheers!