Perfectionism is overrated.

It's Steffani on this end.

I'm writing to share a story about a recent incident that proved to me just how much being a perfectionist can add unnecessary stress AND regardless of how much we scrutinize and obsess over things, shit can STILL go wrong.

Recently, I was invited to be a part of a pitch competition for which we were required to submit a 3-minute recorded pitch video.

I spent hours and hours creating my slides, getting my message down, and rehearsing.

I really drove myself crazy trying to consider every detail, which is perfectly in character for me.

At times in my life, this acute attention to detail has helped me excel, but sometimes it does more harm than good. This was one of those times.

When it came time to record my pitch, I recorded and re-recorded and picked apart every take until I had a mini breakdown and required a pep-talk from my mother.

Once I finally got the take and submitted it, I felt a huge sense of relief.

Naturally, I did go back and watch it again thinking "I could've done x,y, & z things better..."

Regardless, it was submitted and there was no going back.

Flash forward to about a week later when we were having a meeting with our business advisors during which I shared my pitch video.

Once the video ended, one of our advisors turned and asked me, "have you already turned it in?"

"Yes," I replied with an inquisitive look on my face, "...why?"

He said, "You spelled marathon wrong on one of your slides."

"HA! Well, shit," I said as I looked at the slide that clearly spelled out: M-A-R-A-T-O-N

At that point, and even now, all there is to do is laugh and keep pushing forward.

I had to take a step back and remind myself that while it's okay to strive for excellence, we should not let it set us back when things don't happen exactly as we wanted.

Instead, let's focus on progress, not perfection, and most importantly give ourselves the grace to make mistakes and accept that we are beautifully human. 

Cheers to embracing our perfectly imperfect selves!

With love & gratitude,
Steffani & the Nakee Tribe