Getting to Good Enough

Good people (like our listeners) have many good impulses. But how often do you act on them? This week, Shannon and Janine discuss how perfectionism can get in the way of acting on new impulses and how you can get past that. Discussion topics include: • Our excitement over breaking into the top 100 Health & Fitness podcasts in Poland! (And that we’re still on the quest for a listener in Antarct...

Why do we beat ourselves up when we make mistakes? Mistakes aren't failures; in fact they can be viewed as successes. In this episode, Janine and Shannon discuss reframing how we view mistakes so we can we can learn from them instead of feeling bad. Discussion topics include: • Letting go of the notion that if you make a mistake you have failed • Thinking of mistakes as successes • Shannon’s month...

Shannon and Janine are living the "less is more" mantra this year as Shannon makes it a focus of her 2020 goals and Janine focuses on helping her organizing clients let go of excess. In this episode, they discuss how less stuff can add up to more freedom and happiness. Discussion topics include: • One of Shannon’s focuses for 2020: Letting go of excess • How Shannon feels encumbered by her stuff •...

Money is a source of stress for so many people. One tool that both Janine and Shannon use to help them take the stress out of money and create financial peace is the software You Need a Budget (YNAB). Shannon is a YNAB master! In this episode we discuss YNAB and other strategies for creating financial peace. (And Shannon offers to help any listener  who needs help with YNAB!) Discussion topic...

In recording this episode week after week, certain themes keep coming up in Shannon and Janine's conversations. This episode, we distill them down to four hacks: (1) getting in touch with what's important to you; (2) asking yourself, "Is it good enough?"; (3) noticing when you're in perfectionist mode and (4) recognizing that something is better than nothing. Discussion topics include: • Pot stick...

A listener left us a voicemail with an interesting question that we address in this week's episode. Listener Casey wanted advice on choosing what to do to help the world when all the choices are so overwhelming. In this episode, Janine and Shannon discuss ways to get past perfectionism and overwhelm in order to do good. Discussion topics include: • A listener question: How do you choose your focus...

Overthinking anything--but especially our goals--is really easy to do. And those folks with perfectionistic tendencies are particularly susceptible. This week, Shannon and Janine discuss overthinking, particularly as it pertains to end-of-the-year goal setting, and share some of their goal-setting tools as well as techniques for avoiding overthinking. Discussion topics include: • Janine’s antidote...

Janine and Shannon are off on their own personal retreat days, so we thought it would be an excellent time to rerun our end-of-the-year post about goals and resolutions! In this episode, we talk about setting realistic, good enough goals. Way back in 2009, we created a teleclass and workbook about resolutions and we're revisiting it in this episode. (The messages of the teleclass will feel very fa...

In this Good Enough in Practice episode, Shannon shares some exciting news: She just bought a plane ticket to Portugal, where she will walk the Camino de Santiago in 2020! She'll walk 175 to 200 miles by herself over the course of ten to fourteen days. In this episode, Shannon and Janine talk about this personal challenge, how she's preparing for it and her advice for pursuing your own personal ch...

Sometimes when you can't get started on something or you're dragging your feet making a decision, ambivalence is the culprit. It can be sneaky, lurking in the background without your even realizing it. In this episode, Janine and Shannon discuss ambivalence and provide some guidance on clearing it up, so you can make more conscious decisions. (Because not making a decision is actually making a dec...

It's hard enough when we expect perfection from ourselves, but when we expect others to be perfect, we're introducing stress into our (and their) lives. This week, Shannon and Janine talk about making life easier by modifying your expectations of perfection in others. (Spoiler alert: It involves assuming good intentions and cutting people some slack.) Discussion topics include: • Janine’s unrealis...

This week's episode topic was suggested by a reader who said she she gets distracted by little things when she's trying to accomplish bigger and more important goals. In this episode, Janine and Shannon take you through some strategies for keeping your eye prize and finding time for the things that are important to you. Discussion topics include: • How easy it is to avoid the important items on ou...

Words matter when we talk with other people and language is also important when we're talking to ourselves. This week, Shannon and Janine discuss how the words we use can reveal perfectionism and shifting that language can help us get past it. Discussion topics include: • How words can make a difference in your thinking about yourself • The role of words in helping you let go of perfectionism • Re...

Janine and Shannon are participating in National Novel Writing Month this month, in which we're trying to write a 50,000 novel in 30 days. This month, we thought we'd update you about how this fun adventure is going and what a wonderful time we're having embracing imperfection. Discussion topics include: • How great it feels to get our writing goal accomplished first thing in the morning • What a...

The winter holiday season is underway and we want to help our listeners prepare for an easy one. This week, we're re-running Episode 28, which we originally recorded for the 2018 holiday season. We hope it will help make your holiday season less stressful and more joyful! The holiday season can be really hard on perfectionists, who often want to do it all and do it right. This week Shannon and Jan...

We all experience fear. But some fear is sneaky and can really get us stuck, even if we're not aware of it. In this Halloween episode, Janine and Shannon discuss the way fear is often at the root of perfectionism. And we get into strategies for letting it go. Discussion topics include: • Janine’s antipathy for Halloween • The St. Louis Halloween tradition (it involves jokes)! • The fact that kids...

Perfectionists can be really hard on themselves. But there's an easier way to live. Being kind to yourself is not only more pleasant than being hard on yourself, it's more effective. This week, Shannon and Janine discuss the importance of being kind to yourself--and various ways to do it. Discussion topics include: • Janine’s overeating of potstickers on her recent trip • How overeating something...

Every day you're bombarded by choices, often from the time you get up to the time you go to bed. And that can add stress to your life. This week Janine and Shannon discuss how they make their lives easier by limiting the choices they have to make on a regular basis. Discussion topics include: • The joy of limitations • How having fewer clothes makes getting dressed easier. • Shannon’s strategy for...

November is National Novel Writing Month, affectionately known as NaNoWriMo. In this month-long challenge, participants commit to writing a 50,000-word novel in a month. Shannon and Janine have participated in the past and in Episode 62 we decided to take it on agin this year. (Janine has done this every five years since 2004, so this is her fourth NaNoWriMo novel.) In this episode, we talk about...

If you're feeling stuck or find yourself putting things off or resenting what others say, we have what might be a simple solution: Reframing! This week, Janine and Shannon discuss the power of changing the words you use to describe something. Discussion topics include: • Janine’s excitement over the American Ninja Warrior season finale • Changing what words mean to change your experience with them...

Over the course of this podcast, Shannon and Janine have made some commitments to changing various things in their lives, inspired by insights in various episodes. In this episode, we update you on how (or whether) we've managed to do the things we thought we'd do. Discussion topics include: • A tornado in Portland! • Our (new) commitment to keeping a list of these commitments so we don’t forget a...

For many people social media can be a source of stress (even depression), rather than enjoyment, when it triggers perfectionistic tendencies. But it's within your power to make your social media feed a source of happiness and fun, not feelings of inadequacy or envy. In this episode, Janine and Shannon discuss strategies for making social media more enjoyable and productive. Discussion topics inclu...

Why is that we're so passionate about helping you let go of perfectionism? In this episode Shannon and Janine talk about how perfectionism can get in the way of happiness--and how striving for good enough can lead to a happier existence. Discussion topics include: • Janine’s impromptu visit to Chicago to see the musical Hamilton • Our working definition of perfectionism: Spending more time on some...

Every day, we're bombarded by constant distraction and it can really get in the way of productivity. This week, Janine and Shannon talk about the challenges presented by distraction and some strategies for dealing with it. Discussion topics include: • The toll distractions take on our productivity • Janine’s distracting quest for birthday-gift suggestions • Fun subscription boxes • Open loops and...

Creating daily habits can be the most powerful way to make your life easier. But establishing them can sometimes be tricky. This week, Shannon and Janine discuss the value of daily habits, some strategies for creating them and the importance of cutting yourself some slack if you miss a day. Discussions topics include: • Our love of daily habits • Shannon’s quest for a daily exercise routine now th...