Did you know that the first cut to making a brilliant diamond is the easiest? It’s called a table cut and it’s the large, flat facet on top of each diamond. It’s also the largest facet of a diamond and plays an instrumental role in how light enters and reflects back. The table facet is also considered one of the easiest cuts because of its size and the fact that it’s the top of the stone and doesn’t require the precision and symmetry of the other cuts.
I share this with you because, I don’t know about you, but if you’re anything like me, you put a lot of pressure on that first cut. We want to get it right, whether it’s a project, job, business, speech, or any new endeavour. We fear getting it wrong, making a mistake, or failing miserably.
When my daughter was six years old, we registered her for swimming lessons. She was reluctant to go, and when we pressed why, she asked us if she could learn how to swim before she went to her first class. She was afraid of what her teacher and swim mates would think or say because she didn’t know how to swim. She was worried they’d think she wasn’t good enough or that she didn’t have the skill to make it as a swimmer.
Like my daughter, many of us don’t allow ourselves the opportunity to learn how to swim. Instead, we expect to be Phelps right out of the gate, even before we’ve made a first attempt. We want to nail the pitch, ace the interview, or successfully launch a passion project from the get-go, never giving ourselves the grace to learn, grow, and yes, even fail.
Perfectionism is a Brilliant Difference® dimmer. It’s disguised as having high standards, being conscientious, and being an ambitious striver. I’m all too familiar with the highly critical voice of perfectionism. Perfectionist tendencies hold you back from sharing your ideas, gifts, and talents. It’s the brain’s way of keeping you safe and protected. Because if you share your ideas, bring your gifts, and show the world who you are, you will be judged, criticized, and potentially condemned. To avoid all of this mayhem, you avoid or procrastinate showing your work, because if it’s not going to be perfect, it’s better to not show it at all.
It took me three years to launch a podcast. I signed up for three different “how to launch a podcast” courses and set up my office with the right microphone and sound equipment. Months went by, and I still didn’t launch. I was petrified of not doing it right and wondering if I’d have anything valuable to say.
Then, I thought it wasn’t me—rather it was my equipment. So I ordered another brand new mic and interface system, hoping that would fix my procrastination problem. But yet again, starting the podcast was still a figment of my imagination and wasn’t any closer to coming to fruition. At one point, I got really close to pressing publish, as I had pre-recorded five episodes, but got cold feet because it wasn’t the perfect time—we were in the midst of a pandemic.
It wasn’t until I sat down to reflect on what was really getting in the way of hitting play. It wasn’t that I didn’t know how to do it, that I didn’t have the right equipment, or that the timing wasn’t right. What it boiled down to was that I was afraid of failing, looking stupid, being judged, and criticized. Just like my six-year-old daughter who wanted to know how to swim before she attended her first swimming lesson, I too wanted to be a pro podcaster before I even put one podcast out there.
I don’t want you to fall into procrastination potholes by following the perfectionism GPS system. You’ve got big ideas that need to be shared, brilliant skills that need to be used to help others, and an impact to make.
The irony is, just like a diamond, the first cut is the easiest, as there’s not a lot on the line, just yet. But we make up a story that if we don’t get it right, we’ll be laughed at or shamed in some way, making it feel like it’s the hardest.
Remember this: a cloudy, gray, raw diamond transforms into a brilliant, sparkly one only because of that first table cut. Your Brilliant Difference will shine through only when you make that first cut to allow the light to shine through.
What’s the first cut you want to make on your diamond today?
