May 6

”Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify.” Henry David Thoreau

One of my favorite quotes from my work is that the first 90% of a project will take 90% of the time, and the remaining 10% will take the other 90% of the time. For me the reason for the reality of this (maybe not quite to the same extreme) is getting into the details. It can be difficult sometimes to not plan to the minute detail. As someone who has trouble with procrastination, making sure every detail is there, well-defined, planned, accounted for, double-checked…these are all ways to prolong actually doing something. Part of learning to let go in my recovery also means learning to be comfortable with things that are “good enough.” Instead of trying to get something to 100%, I have to be content that maybe 80-85% is sufficient and will do the job. Sometimes it’s more important to get something mostly done than trying to get it perfect the first time. It is important that there may be an opportunity to make improvements later. The same goes for my recovery. I don’t need to give a perfect first step, practice perfect abstinence from my middle and inner circles. Sometimes efforts in the right direction are enough to keep me moving in the right direction and enough to keep me moving along my path to a better and saner life.

Affirmation Today I will focus on doing rather than getting things perfect. I will accept things that are “good enough.”