FlyLady

A lot of my posts will have to do with the lifestyle system I'm using. It is called FlyLady. You can check out her site here. FLY stands for Finally Loving Yourself. At first blush it appears that it's only a house organization or cleaning site. But it's much more than that. FlyLady's site is helping me to lose weight (body clutter), pare down my house clutter and eliminate emotional baggage (mind clutter). I've been fluttering, not exactly Flying, for years now but it wasn't until today that I really got one foundational principle of the system:

Something finally clicked. The light bulb moment is here. THINGS DON'T HAVE TO BE PERFECT! I've been fluttering for years and years and couldn't figure out why I wasn't making much progress. Then this morning it hit me - BAM! - I was still being a perfectionist, only now I wanted to do the FlyLady system perfectly. I was constantly on myself if I didn't do everything and do it all perfectly. It was a little thing that made it all click. I had left some dishes on the counter last night. The dishwasher already had dirty dishes in it, but I chose not to put those in last night. Usually I either would have got up in the middle of the night to put them away (guilt) or I would have got up this morning and started my day off on the wrong foot because I hadn't done what I was SUPPOSED to do yesterday. I can't tell you how many bad days I've had because of this. But for some reason this morning it occurred to me that it was okay that the dishes were left out. I could take care of them right then. In about two minutes it was done. No guilt. All of a sudden I could see everything that I had done, instead of concentrating on what I had left undone. What an awesome feeling! I realized that I was trying to do the FlyLady system perfectly and was getting frustrated because 'perfection is not possible'. I wanted all my ducks to be in a row all the time. What a prison I had myself trapped in. This morning I was positive that the FlyLady system is a guideline not something to straight jacket me. I know this is all basic and elemental but until you really get it, it doesn't seem basic at all. I was able to free myself up from the constraints I had put on myself regarding tasks and routines (routines that really weren't working for me). I had painted myself into a corner and was waiting eons for the paint to dry. Now I'm no longer in the corner, no longer wearing the straight jacket, and no longer worrying about being perfect. I am content with what I have done and didn't fuss about what wasn't done yet. I have made incredible strides and today I feel proud of that. Before my thoughts were: how can you feel good about yourself when there is so much to do. What a change of heart I've had today. I guess this is what FlyWashing is all about.Wow! I just can't tell you how much weight (mind clutter) has been lifted off of me. I am not buried under my perfectionism anymore. What a great feeling.I can't thank Marla, Leanne, Kelly & the entire FlyCrew enough for hanging in there with me. And thanks to all the other Flybabies for their encouragement and support.

This was an epiphany for me.