New Year, New Intentions

Good food will always be high on my list of intentions.

Happy New Year! After some much needed sleep, I am ready to jump back into it! My resolutions are as follows, publish 5 papers, grow Science, Stand-Up, & Song, perform every night, be a loving wife and cat mom, exercise 5 days a week... oh and how could I forget daily meditation and journaling?

Or I could binge watch Dexter and call it a night.

The thing is, those are my ambitions for the year, but they cannot be completed at the "Marissa level of standards". That standard is perfection and if I strive for that, then none of those things will happen. So I am going to strive for excellence instead.

Perfectionist goals are all about external judgement. Wanting others to think highly of us. To quote Dr. Brené Brown (and who doesn't want to quote Brené?!), "Perfectionism is, at its core, about trying to earn approval and acceptance"(1). Whereas striving for excellence is about internal focus - metrics to achieve for oneself (1). For example, an internally focused goal may be to learn the Highway to Hell guitar solo. I believe this is a goal to better myself. It is not for the approval of anyone else (especially not for my cat who couldn't be bothered to be in the same room as I practice).

My overall intention for the year is to lead through action. Get things done. They won't be perfect with a nice little bow on top, but they will be out there in the world and that is something to be proud of.

Next week, let's dig into impactful (and very cool) science together!

Until next time, dream big, love fiercely, laugh often, and sparkle.

References

1. Brown, Brené. The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are. Hazelden, 2010.