Perfectionism tends to drive me more than I care to admit. I want to give my best efforts when I tackle any project. One of the unintended results is paralysis when my efforts are not perfect. The struggle to complete something is hindered or halted until it can be done right…which means, perhaps, not at all.

Recently, I gathered with other women writers as we rented a home and worked on our various projects. We set goals at the beginning of the week and report daily on our efforts. Over the years, the wording of the goals may include a word count for the day.As a newbie, I wasn’t sure how high to set the goal and went with a number that was consistent with what others were choosing.

One of my deepest struggles is resisting the urge to correct as I go along. Taking the time to re-read and correct each and every paragraph…slows… activity… down.  I admit to being a grammar geek and love words. So if I find myself using the same word too often, the thesaurus is my best friend.

As a result, I rarely hit my goals. No surprise there. However, my attitude has gotten better. In the past, I would have stewed over not reaching my target number and gotten depressed at my FAILURE. This year, I have realized something much more vital. SUCCESS is in the process, not just progress  What I learn along the way is also important; perhaps, it is even more important than the final product.

To be certain. Continued efforts on process will lead to progress. Articles, books…anything can be accomplished by continuing the small steps that are needed to get there.

So, I celebrated what did get accomplished each and every day because every word count reached meant I was further along than the day before.

Of course, this applies to more than writing. This can be applied to any of those: weight loss, pursuing a degree, or any other item on a to-do list.