A few weeks ago I bought a white toilet seat for the downstairs bathroom. Our toilet seat had been blue for the past two years. And now it was time to change it. I wanted a toilet seat that matched the rest of the toilet. I bought a white toilet seat.
I put the new toilet seat on the sink in the bathroom, and left it there for a few days. I was busy taking our new puppy outside and cleaning the seven litter boxes, so I didn’t get a change to put the new toilet seat on.
“Mom, the new toilet seat is white. It doesn’t match the toilet.”
“No, it matches. The toilet is white. ”
My daughter tried to tell me several times the toilet seat I bought was the wrong color. But, I didn’t listen. Of course the white toilet seat I bought matched the white toilet.
I installed the white toilet seat, and threw away the packaging.
“Mom, the new toilet seat is white. It doesn’t match the toilet.”
“No, it matches.”
It was several days later when I actually looked closely at the new white toilet seat. My daughter was right. It didn’t match. The toilet seat is white, the toilet is a cream color.
Oh, no I made a mistake! I am not perfect!
I wanted to rip the white toilet seat off and toss it in the trash, run out the door, and drive as fast as is legally possible, taking full stops at the five stops signs on the way to the hardware store and buy a new cream colored toilet seat.
How could I ever let people see that I am not perfect? What if someone came to visit me and they had to go to the bathroom? They would see my white toilet seat. They might think less of me. “Seriously? The toilet seat doesn’t match! How can she actually expect me sit on a white toilet seat when the rest of the toilet is cream. She is useless. She is a failure at buying toilet seats.”
Are you afraid of making a mistake?
Do you hesitate to start a project because you are worried you might make a mistake? Are you worried your project won’t be perfect?
Well now, I can’t write that story because I can’t do it perfectly. And, I won’t dare learn how to dance because I might make a mistake. What if I fall? The canvas will see no paint because I might not do it perfectly. What if my painting of a cow looks like a donkey?
It’s far better to write something than it is to write nothing while trying to achieve perfection.
Nathan Barry — Authority
My white toilet seat will remain on my cream-colored toilet for the rest of this year. It will serve as a reminder to me and to you; we don’t have to be perfect.
You don’t have to be perfect
Write your story. Write imperfectly; get it all out. Then go back and edit. No editing until the story is all down.
Study dance. Go ahead, fall. Then get back up. Dance imperfectly.
Paint your cow. And if your cow looks like a donkey, make another painting. Paint until your painting looks like the cow in your mind.
Do you ever hesitate to start a project because you are worried it might not be perfect? Please let me know, I would love to chat. And please ignore the white toilet seat. Or buy a mismatched one to replace your toilet seat. A sort of toilet seat soilidarity.
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Other stories on ipaintiwrite about being Perfect
2013 was the year of the Blue Toilet Seat, a reminder to be bold. To live a colorful life and not do only what is expected of us.
( It appears in this story I knew the toilet was a cream color. Apparently I forgot.)
My first blog post. January 1st, 2012 Living in a perfect world
Does everything have to be perfect to write?
