“If you look for perfection, you’ll never be content”.

Leo Tolstoy

Anna Karenina is one of my favourite books.

You can read it on Gutenberg here   or listen to the audiobook on LibriVox here.

Russian classics are immensely dense reading, but you can learn a lot from Leo Tolstoy if you slow down and read with the intention to learn & reflect, NOT CONSUME.

Yoga, for me, is my lifestyle.

Self-study (Svadhyaya) is important and very much part of being Yogini.

This means cultivating awareness of your own patterns and being WILLING to question everything.

EVERYTHING.

• Why do you do what you do?

• Is it working for you?

• Is it working for those around you?

• Is your behaviour taking you closer to your values or further?

Social & cultural conditioning can only be adapted once you become aware of it.

Just because everyone is doing something doesn’t mean you have to do the same thing.

Are you simply following status quo?

Yoga isn’t about headstands and touching your toes; it’s about learning, growing, Evolving.

Regardless of how far each of us has come, the journey of growth never ends.

Growth is not perfection.

Working in the healthcare industry and having a degree in finance and economics cultivated the habit of perfection in me.

I couldn’t make a mistake working with medication.

I couldn’t make a mistake on hospital wards.

I couldn’t make a mistake working in a hospital laboratory making chemotherapy or doing clinical research.

In those environments, within that context, mistakes are real & dangerous.

Every single thing gets checked and checked again. We are detail-oriented people.

It’s taken a few years to realise not all mistakes are dangerous.

Not all mistakes are life or death.

Not everything has to be perfect.

In an environment of healthcare, yes, perfection is required and is not negotiable.

During my degree, I REFUSED to accept anything less than my utmost best out of myself, which I am proud of.

I REFUSED. ( My Choice)

Having said that in my personal life, for my own balance, in order for me to be content, I am allowed to give myself a break.

Different environment.

It doesn’t mean giving up entirely and becoming uncaring or complacent; it means finding personal middle ground.

There is a time and place for everything.

At this stage of my Life there is simply nothing to prove.

I know myself so well now.

I know I can maintain an above 80% grade average for 4 years in an academic degree.

I know what I excel at & I know what is difficult for me.

From doing Hospice work, I know the process of life lessons consistently involves having self-awareness, reflecting and cultivating a WHOLE PERSON.

By that I mean, feeling WHOLE WITHIN YOURSELF.  Your inner landscape.

I work with people from feeling wholeness within myself.

To feel Whole Within yourSelf, which I DO.

Feeling WHOLE starts with YOU, in the same way, it started with me. ( My Choice)

People who have actively done end of Life phase work view the world DIFFERENTLY.

Working with the dying has given me a DIFFERENT viewpoint of Life itself.

Maintain the skills you are great at and use those to improve on the aspects of Life you still want to learn, without the need to be PERFECT at every single thing.

Know what your personal needs are and meet those; keeping in mind, working with others, working together, asking for help, and making mistakes is part of Life itself. ( Both yours and theirs)

How else will we grow?

Yoga OFF the mat is far more important than on the mat for me.

So may it be for you.🙏

If you would like a deep tissue relaxation massage in Ontario, you are welcome to make your appointment.

If you would like to do a private retreat in Norfolk County, Ontario, you are welcome to apply.

If you would like to improve your relationships and want an objective mediator perspective, you are welcome to work with me online.

GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK

See you soon

Stress Management Consultant, Trainer, Author

Colleen Glennis McClure

#AnnaKarenina
#LeoTolstoy
#Perfectionist
#selfreflect