Fun fact: HMMWV (pronounced hum-vee) stands for High Mobility Multi-Wheeled Vehicle.

Fun fact #2: After being in military organizations for 22 years, I still have to google the spelling or ask

my hubby.

Fun fact #3: No, I have no idea why we don't just call it a "truck."

Alas, some questions aren't meant to be answered, but I digress. There's a reason

why I have HMMWVs on my mind.

That's because I just spent the last 3+ weeks on my annual Army Reserve training, where I got to cruise

around in one a little bit.

And by a little bit, I mean approximately 12 minutes - after doing a thorough maintenance check on it,

of course. Yeah, baby - checking tires, liquids, and light functioning!

Here's a picture 😉

Jewell Siebert in an old HMMWV

I'm not going to lie - those 12 minutes was super fun.

Outside of those 12 minutes, I spent the exercise briefing, phone calling, teaching, and leading a group

of 98 people. Oh, and occasionally getting cared at loudly by a one-star general for a situation that

was outside my scope of control (We'll save that story for another day - it's pretty funny in

hindsight ).

So ok, great - I spent 3+ weeks in the place where they filmed M*A*S*H, got to ride around in an old

and fun "truck," and led an excellent team. What's that got to do with you?

I'm SO glad you asked!

See, a lot of things went well during the training

And a LOT of stuff didn't.

AND, since I was the leader of a big piece of the pie, you can guess how that panned out.

It was a training exercise, so no one was shooting. No one's lives were in

danger. It was an event specifically designed to help people get better at what they do.

But as you know, being aware of these things doesn't necessarily make the rough patches easier when

you're a type-A overachiever.

Perfectionism & Doing Some Things Badly

Luckily, I learned something that helped and that I thought you would find helpful.

It was a great piece of advice from one of the other generals there, BG Michael Roache (he

was my favorite, but shh - don't tell). He passed along something one of his former bosses told him.

The gist of what he said:

"You eventually get to the point in your work where you're in charge of so

many things that you need to get used to doing many things badly. You have to pick your focus

and get comfortable with not being great at everything."

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Getting comfortable with imperfection: Sometimes, we need to get comfortable with doing some

things badly so we can do the most important ones well.

Good reminder, eh? It applies to all of us.

We all have a billion essential things going on in our lives. And trying to do everything Marry

Poppins-style ("practically perfect in every way") is exhausting.

And darned near impossible.

Not to mention, not much fun for us OR the other people in our lives.

Getting Comfortable with Doing Things Badly: Bye-Bye Perfectionism

That's what it's all about - perfectionism. Now, I'll be the first to admit, just thinking about doing

things badly make me cringe.

It goes against everything we've ever learned, right?

But there comes the point in every high-achiever's life where you're handling more things than you can

feasibly do all at once.

Well, do them successfully, that is.

So here are some of my favorite ways to get comfortable doing some things badly... so that I can do

the most important things well.

1) Prioritize What's Important.

Yep, priorities. You have to know which things are most important. This will help you understand what things to focus on (the activities that will get you actual traction vs. the nice-to-haves). Once you know this, it's easier to create - and stick to - boundaries that protect your time, mental well-being and relationships with the people you love.

2) Question Your Story.

Do you know that voice in your head that tells you you're a failure if you don't meet every deadline, have all your receipts and projects nicely tabbed in binders, and make the perfect Pinterest desserts for dinner every night? Yeah, the "you're not doing enough" voice. It's reciting from the script of what Vishen Lakhani calls "rules." And, sorry - not sorry - to say that voice isn't always telling you the truth. It's up to you to re-write that story and determine what's good enough for you. Tapping helps me with this.

3) Get Help. AKA — delegate.

You're super amazing. And you don't have to be super amazing all on your own. Once you've decided what things aren't your priorities, look for people who can take on some of the other tasks so you reduce your overall workload. (P.S. This will also decrease overwhelm and increase overall productivity.

Win-win!)

Getting Comfortable with Imperfection I infographic by Jewell Siebert

The Process of Using Imperfection to Your Advantage

All right, so let's get real here for a second.

These tips work. AND, they're not an instant, snap your fingers, say "geenie-weenie" three times and

voila - no more perfectionist tendencies.

(Naha - "geenie-weenie" - what does that even mean??)

Creating new habits takes awareness, effort, and time. Prioritizing, setting healthy boundaries, and

Asking for Help are things I still work on daily. Shoot - even when creating this article for you

today.

So, easy? Not always.

Worth it? Absolutely!

It saves you time, keeps stress down, and helps you be more present and focused when you're doing

the work you enjoy and the people you love.

So today, I invite you to think about what it might take for you to get comfortable doing some

things badly.

And with that, I'm off to snuggle with my daughter and find a plum-sized toad that's hopping around

my living room (seriously, don't ask).

Until next time!

Jewell "Getting Comfortable with Doing Things Badly" Siebert