Nataliey Bitature argues that loosening your grip on perfectionism reduces chronic stress without sacrificing results. She shares how her aunt's casual remark and a story about a timed 25-mile bike ride taught her that things get done even when they're not done your way.
It'll get done. This is a concept that has really changed my life. A few months ago, one of my aunties told me, but you're not a doctor. If you don't answer the phone, no one is going to die. And it really blew my mind. I was like, what? That's so true. I need to be able to let things go, let people do things how they're going to do them. Things are still going to work out how they're going to work out. Sometimes it's hard when you're in your own life to see if you don't do something the way you need it to be done and do it yourself, to think that it will get done properly or it will get done even a bit of the way. But it's important to understand that things will work out how they're supposed to. You need to put in effort and you need to work at things. Sure. But it's important to note that things will still get done, even by other people, in other ways, in a longer period of time, maybe, but they get done. I was listening to a podcast the other day and this guy said he used to ride his bike on this 25 mile track and he'd put in all his effort and time himself and go as fast as he can, as hard as he can, and he can't breathe. And every day he'd time himself and he'd get the same time. And then one day he wasn't feeling well, but he insisted on going on the ride. But instead he relaxed, he enjoyed. He looked around at the trees and the birds and the sunset. He's like, this place is beautiful. How have I never noticed? And when he got to the end, he had been timing, of course, out of habit. It was only three minutes longer. He could not believe it. All that effort, the out of breath, the stress, the pressure he was putting on himself for a 3 minute difference. Yet he really enjoyed the ride. The nature, the time, the setting. It was amazing and it changed how he thought about things. So I like to think about that in a. We put our own pressure on ourselves. Things will still get done, things will still work out. You don't need to feel stressed and pushed and harassed the whole day. You can still get enough things done in one day. You can still get the goal or reach the end of where you are, even if you took many different paths. I know a lot of people have drivers and as a driver, they tell the driver, we're going to this place and then you're doing something else. But you Keep telling him, ah, don't pass this route, go this way. The road is bad here. This one has traffic. You go here, do this. Let the guy do his work. You're going to reach. That's his job. How would you feel if someone was telling you how to do your job? It will still get done. You will still get there. And you'll get there less stressed. You won't be stressed about traffic, stressed about the pothole, wondering why he took this lift. Why are you wasting your energy? You could be doing something else. Things will still get done and it's a very strange feeling and makes me very uncomfortable to think about. Oh, things will still get done. They don't have to be done your way, but the truth is they do. They get done. So it's important to enjoy your life as well. You don't want to think about the last 10 years and you can't. You can barely remember anything or you worked so hard and you're so proud of yourself and so grateful for what you have, but you missed so many moments. You were so stressed, you were not enjoying any part of it. You didn't get to do the things that you wanted to enjoy when you were still young. You didn't get to enjoy things that your body can do when you're still young. You didn't get to live because you were so busy pushing yourself. It's important to push yourself and to have drive and work ethic. But don't lose sight of what we're actually here for. No one is going to get an award in heaven. You worked the hardest. You never used to sleep. You didn't go for any parties. You still have to live a full life. And it's something that if you don't put in an effort, it's easy to get caught up in your routines and your regular lifestyle of not appreciating and pushing yourself and going too fast and always being stressed and always feeling rushed and pushed and you're not peaceful. There's a value to this peace in your life and things will always get done how they're supposed to. In the bigger scheme of things, it will be okay. Enjoy.
