A few months ago, while doing my morning cardio, I heard a quote from an entrepreneurial YouTuber that has really stuck with me. She said “I’ve learned that sometimes done is better than perfect”. On the surface, this goes against every instinct in my body, but I’ve tried so hard lately to remind myself of this mantra & remember one little detail: I’m not perfect. But the good news is nobody else is either.

So here I sit, December 31, 2017 – and in typical Kim fashion, I’m going through my mental list of things that I didn’t get done this year (because they weren’t perfect)…like writing this holiday blog. To say I’m a perfectionist is just about the understatement of the year. Even when I hit new goals or milestones, I’m always pushing myself further, or picking apart what I could have done better. When I set a new PR in the gym – what’s my first reaction? “I need to work on my form”. When I hit 100%, that usually isn’t good enough – why wasn’t it 110%? I tend to dwell on the things that I didn’t make happen – like hanging my vintage Christmas wreath on our front gate this year, instead of the things I did conquer – like the fact that we got our roof redone this month in time for the upcoming rainy season in the desert, and I managed to put on 2 family Thanksgivings AND 2 Christmas dinners, plus traveled 13 days of December.

I partially blame this on “Growing up Hogan”, where a level of excellence was not just expected, but demanded. I’ll always remember getting my first college Spanish exam back & going straight into my professor’s office after class asking her how I could bring up my grade. She looked at me, looked down at my test, & looked back asking “How exactly do you want to bring your grade up?”…it was the first time in my life that I received an A followed by a minus sign, and I knew, that was just not going to fly.

2017 has been one of (if not the) most challenging years of my life – filled with moments of uncertainty where I’ve been completely out of control of the situation (frankly, my biggest fear). I’ve had plenty of reminders that I’m not perfect. I’ve started far too many emails with “Sorry for the delay…”. I’ve beat myself up for leaving laundry lists of “to-do’s” undone. I’ve looked back on more than a few situations & wished that I had handled them differently. From this standpoint – I’m actually glad to see the year go, and I’m anxious to ring in a new fresh start in 2018!

When we train in the gym, we tear down our muscles so we can grow them bigger, stronger. Similarly, 2017 challenged me & stretched me in ways I probably really needed to grow. As I look back on the things that I did accomplish: over 500 visits to the gym; our first family vacation; found an incredible professional mentor (thank you, Simon); was privileged to speak at QuickBooks Connect; was honored professionally by several industry trade publications; and possibly something I’m most proud of, made sacrifices that put my family first, even when that meant accepting that I’m not a super hero, and wasn’t going to be able to do it all perfectly.

While there’s still plenty of room between me and perfection (and there always will be), I think what I learned more than anything this year is that I’m harder on myself, and expect more of myself than anyone else, and, even I need to cut myself some slack. In the fitness world, you often hear the importance of setting realistic goals that are obtainable & reachable. By shifting my expectations from that unreachable perfect, to striving for excellence, I know I can tackle 2018 with all the enthusiasm I need to make it the best year yet.

Happy Holidays to you & yours – and best wishes for an excellent New Year!