As a budding entrepreneur, you wear numerous hats: CEO, CFO, CMO, sales manager etc.

Being a quiet achiever and perfectionist with high standards, you are accustomed to doing everything conscientiously and to the best of your ability, and you hate the thought of embarking on something that could go terribly wrong, which is most of the time when you’re new at anything.

It’s called being consciously incompetent.

As a recovering perfectionist, I get it.

When I have to do something I haven’t mastered yet, like writing good sales copy, or sending an email to invite someone to work with me, I immediately think of all the reasons why I shouldn’t do it, how it’s too risky and uncertain, and I distract myself by putting it off and doing something else.

You see, I want to be absolutely sure I get it right before I fully commit.

I want that guarantee of success in advance.

I hate starting something, then realizing I’ve gone down the wrong track and need to undo everything and start over.

It’s mortifying, I feel like I’ve wasted my precious time and energy, and my inner critic now has one more piece of evidence to use against me the next time I try something unfamiliar and potentially risky.

Expecting perfection in all things stops us from bravely saying yes, taking risks, having adventures, failing, and learning from our failures and challenges.

We need that process of overcoming, managing our bruised ego, picking ourselves up, and reflecting, in order to grow to our fullest potential.

Having an easy, smooth, risk-free life may be comfortable, but it’s not conducive to growth, nor does it build character and embed in us those traits we need for the marathon of life.

There will always be uncertainty, risk and change in life.

Don’t let your inner perfectionist / control freak stop you from taking risks, following your curiosity, and honouring those divine nudges.

Even when it falls apart, you will discover hidden reserves of strength, creativity, and resourcefulness you did not know you had.

You will meet allies and protectors.

Things have a way of working themselves out, just not necessarily to your timetable or liking.

If I’ve learned anything from the many detours in life, it’s that the Quiet Warrior is forged through quests of courage and saying yes to the seemingly impossible, not through sitting in comfort at home.