Take imperfect action to move your nonprofit mission forward

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I took a workshop once during which the trainer said that “take imperfect action” was her mantra. I have adopted it as one of my own since starting my consulting practice.

​I talked to a lot of consultants before I got started to hear about their journeys. Many of them said, ‘they just fell into it.” I knew this was not going to be my path. I am too much of a planner. So I also read every book on being successful as a consultant that I could find.
 

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Taking the plunge

But finally I had to take the plunge. All the reading and talking to people was not going to make it real. It got more real when I was taking care of my dad in his final months. Sitting next to him in his wheel chair, I thought – “what will I regret when I am in my 90s and sitting in my wheel chair if I have never done it?” One of the things that came to mind was never shifting from planning to action on creating my consulting business.

So start I did. Step by imperfect step. 
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Imperfect steps

Keeping ‘take imperfect action’ front and center helps me free myself when I get stuck in overwhelm or in analysis paralysis. 
 
‘Take imperfect action’ frees me from worrying about whether I am working on the “right” thing.
 
It reminds me that there are lots of possibilities and many of them are likely to be “right.”

​It helps remind me I am a flawed human and cannot know what the future holds, all grand plans aside.

Celebrating small wins

​In a world that only wants you to ‘play big or go home’ I have been focusing on the small. Small steps, small wins.  Part of this practice has been writing down my small wins at the end of every day.
 
‘Bird by bird’ as Annie Lamott says. Trusting that these small imperfect steps will add up to progress.
 
What imperfect action will you take today?
 

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