Embracing Progress Over Perfection: A New Year’s Resolution for Fiddlers Everywhere

Hey there, folks! It’s the beginning of 2024, and I’ve gotta say, I love the start of a new year! Currently just finishing a well-deserved Christmas break (two weeks off, woohoo!), I’m feeling recharged and totally ready for what this new year has in store.

So, I’ve been diving into this book called “10X is Easier than 2X” by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy. Now, it’s aimed at entrepreneurs, but there was this one line that I think will hit home for all of us. It talks about how we often measure ourselves against this ideal version of where we think we should be, and honestly, it just leaves us feeling discontented.

I often get students asking me where they should be skill-wise. You know, how good they ought to be.

“Should” is kind of a tricky word, isn’t it? It can mess with our happiness and feeling of self-worth.

The book makes a cool comparison: measuring yourself against where you “should” be is like trying to reach the horizon in a desert. You keep taking steps, but that horizon never seems to get any closer.

Instead, they suggest something different—measuring your progress against where you’ve been.

Now, I know the new year is usually about setting goals (and I’m all for that!), but this time, let’s try a different approach to gauging our success. No more stressing about where we “should” be or how amazing we “should” be at what we do. Let’s look back at how far we’ve come and throw a little celebration for that journey.