I write for people who want to make a difference in their world - how they can get clarity in their lives and with that clarity, a sense of purpose and urgency.
Perfectionism stems from fear and it has 3 main challenges:
It stops you from trying new things.
It builds a "me" centric worldview.
It can contribute to mental health challenges.
I wanted to help my girls (and me!) reframe their ideas of fear, failure, and mistakes. I found inspiration in an article I read about Sara Blakely.
Sara recalls:
"My dad encouraged us to fail growing up. He would ask us what we had failed at that week. If we didn't have something, he would be disappointed. It changed my mindset at an early age that failure is not the outcome--failure is not trying. Don't be afraid to fail."
Fear and Failure Fridays
I decided to combine our daughters' love for ice cream with John Blakely's wisdom. If they could tell me at least one thing they had tried and failed at in the week or one fear they had felt but had acted anyway, they would get their weekly ice cream. This became known as Fear and Failure Friday.
I don't know if it will work but if nothing else, it's a wonderful tool for talking about mistakes and fears, and as a father, that is what is important to me.