The Holistic Journey | August 19, 2023

(Also make sure to stick of this long letter for a special deal)

Sports & Perfectionism (my experience)

For the past 2 years…

I’ve been playing volleyball, and I’m honestly really good at it. (relatively speaking of course, I’m only in HS after all)

I’m only 5’6, yet I’ve trained to the point where I can consistently compete with (and beat) teams with rosters of men over 6’ tall.

I’ve had some of the best experiences in my life in that sport.

Yet, this one trait has stopped me from being happy with myself while playing it.

Perfectionism.

Let me tell you the story of what seems like perfect sequence of events - where everything went according to plan…

Yet I deem it imperfect.

Here’s how it went:

Or so I thought.

Here's the clip of the play. (I'm #8)

I was riding the high of that experience for the next few days.

And to be completely honest, I’ve probably watched that clip dozens of times.

The thing with me (and probably you) is that I tend to be overly critical of myself and overthink alot.

So as I kept watching that clip over and over and over again… I kept finding minuscule flaws that destroyed it’s novelty.

1. “You coulda jumped higher Ethan…”
2. “The other team wasn’t even that good…”
3. “You’re only in JV bro why you acting up…”
4. “You coulda bounced that 10ft line…”

And so, over the next few days as I rewatched that one too many times.

I came to the realization that it wasn’t perfect.

I wasn’t good-enough yet…

I had to train more.

And that’s what I did.

“That’s a good thing right?”

Yes of course, I definitely became better as a result of training more.

But in doing so, I sacrificed my self-image.

My identity disintegrated.

I kept telling myself that I wasn’t good enough.

My mental health went on a downturn.

And guess what?

Similar, if not better scenarios like that one I just described to you happened countless times more.

What seemed like the perfect sequence of events soon turned out to be imperfect after I overthought and overly criticized myself…

Ultimately, this is what stopped me from reaching my full potential for myself as a player…

And for the team - as an asset.

Perfection Is Boring - here’s why

Perfection is a boring state.

There’s a lot of nuances to what being “perfect” means.

Regarding them all, we’ll use this definition of perfect.

By that definition, (and our common sense) perfection is a boring state that keeps you static.

Imagine perfection as a cruise on the ocean.

This cruise can be the best, most perfect cruise that money can buy, yet it’s one caveat is that it’s not moving at all.

It’s completely stuck in the ocean.

The cruise is nice, sure you can spend a lot of time on it indulging in pleasures and having a lot of fun, I bet.

But after a while, even the best things can get boring.

Eventually you’d want to leave it, you’d want to keep traveling the ocean in search for novelty.

Alas, I present to you imperfection.

Imperfection is an interesting state that keeps you:

• Present
• Interested
• Challenged

Imperfection is like a speedboat.

You’re always present and looking out to the ocean, heck you might even see a few whales and sharks here and there keeping you interested.

At the same time, you’re going to have to deal with the forces of mother nature to ensure your safety, making sure you’re challenged.

Imperfection Is a Blessing

Acknowledge that you’re an imperfect being.

That you’re not even close to becoming perfect whatsoever.

And that… you probably never will be.

But that’s where the fun in life is found!

Tackling your imperfections, your flaws, and becoming better as a result!

The first step to doing so is gaining awareness of your imperfections, and setting goals to tackle them.

​I discuss the process of goals more in this letter.​

The issue that 99% of people face however when setting goals for themselves…

Is that they don’t take any action to that goal, because at the end of the day, we humans are overly critical beings.

And that implies we’re seeking for perfection.

As a result, they’re stuck in the paradox of perfection where they are fully aware of their imperfections, yet - they want their first “thing” to be perfect.

And nothing happens.

Hidden in a guise, perfection is masked as procrastination.

​

So how do we tackle this?

We have to lower our egos and accept something being “good-enough.”

Accept “Good-Enough”

What does this mean?

“Surely you’re not telling us to settle for mediocrity?!” is what you’re probably telling yourself.

And no, of course not.

So if not that, what does “good-enough” mean?

Let’s view this from the lens of a product.

There’s 2 versions of this product.

Version 1 is the one of a kind, it’s almost complete, and there are an abundance of gimmicks, tips & tricks, bonuses etc.

The issue with V1 is that it’s creators aren’t satisfied with it yet. They feel that there’s something more to add (which there always is), and as a result, V1 never gets released to the market.

Version 2 is more basic, but that doesn’t take away from its effectiveness. It can do its job and fulfill the promises that the customer is looking forward to.

V2 gets put out to the market and makes it creators hundreds of dollars.

The difference?

Even though V1 was 100% the better product, it never got put out.

V2 did.

And that’s because V2’s creators accepted that the product was “good-enough.”

And when something’s “good-enough” it implies that it has fulfilled its minimum viable purpose.

That’s what it means to be “good-enough.”

This conscious practice is the best (in my opinion) way to tackle procrastination, and it’s guise - perfectionism.

Let’s get to more methods that may be a little for practical for you right now though…

3 More Methods To Tackle Perfectionism

Here are 3 more methods that you can use to tackle perfectionism, while also keeping “good-enough” in mind.

All of these methods work hand-in-hand, so if you do all of them it’s genuinely going to work wonders.

Grab A Pen & Paper

It’s time to do a mini life-audit.

Once you’ve grabbed a pen and paper (or the notes app) ask yourself these two questions:

• Have I ever settled for something being “good-enough” and if so, when?
• When have I not done something that I wanted to because I was afraid of failure?

Journal upon these questions relentlessly.

Really ask yourself - “do I really want things to be perfect? Or am I just scared that I’m going to fail?"

Because if you are afraid of failing, that’s all the more reason to try.

If you need more insight on the process of journaling, then here’s my free journaling guide if you’re interested.​

Start Today (perfection kills execution)

Genuinely, just start today.

What else do you want me to say?

Start whatever.

Start that project you’ve always wanted to pursue.

Maybe that business that you’ve been yearning to explore.

Or something as simple as hitting your first workout.

Don’t overthink it.

And start today.

For extra self-accountability, reply to this email with what you’re going to start doing and if you want to go to the extra mile, send some proof as well.

The 99% of reading this letter won’t do this.

Only the people who are serious about improving their life will.

Will you?

Accountability Buddy

Assuming you’re a perfectionist…

Get another person who’s a perfectionist and is willing to be your buddy on the journey of tackling perfectionism.

For some reason, we perfectionists can’t see much of it in ourselves, but when it comes to other perfectionists - we can see what they’re doing and help them out with rationale.

Keep that in mind.

If you can’t see it in yourself, you will be able to spot it within others.

And they’ll do the same for you.

This way you can have a partner who’s just as devoted to you on the journey of improvement and getting rid of flaws.

LIMITED TIME DEAL (don't miss this)

Yo bro!

I've launched my first product, the Decision Making Matrix.​

It was originally going to be on sale for $5... but then I had a change of heart.

​I'VE DECIDED TO PUT IT AT 40% OFF FOR THE NEXT 10 PEOPLE WHO BUY IT!​

And since your attention span has lasted this long, you're definitely going to benefit a lot from it.

I'll let the reviews from the pre-launch speak for itself...

​

The Decision Making Matrix (DMM) is my personal system for making high-leverage decisions that:

• Improve my health
• Better my relationships
• Grow my business ventures

The DMM is going to be your go-to place whenever you have an important decision to make.

Remember all those times you had to make important decisions, but instead of taking the time to process them and write them out, you just let your mind do all the work?

And unfortunately, whenever we do that our decisions seem to turn out bad...

Again, I've put it at 40% off for the next 10 people who buy it through this link.​

Included in the DMM (once you buy it), you're going to receive an email from me with:

• A step-by-step video guide on how to use it most effectively, with an example.

Don't overthink it, it's literally $3. That's the amount of money you make after working for 15 minutes (if even that).

Instead of spending that $3 on some chips that are going to make you fatter...

Spend that $3 on systemizing your life with the Decision Making Matrix.​

After all...

Anyways, that's it.

Thanks for your time.

Make sure to implement what you've learned, and have a good rest of your week.

— Ethan P.

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TOOLS & GUIDES

​The Holistic Journey Past Letters​

Decision Making Matrix (40% off for the next 10)

Mental Mastery Guide (free)

Journaling Guide (free)

Flow Guide (free)

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