Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

In This Edition of Remarkable Monday

• Dialing in My Form

• This Is Humbling

• The Trap of Wanting to Be an Expert—Right Now

• Neurotic Perfectionism: When High Standards Become …

• Stop Trying to Skip the Rep Work

Dialing in My Form

I really thought I was doing something before my first session with my wellness coach.

I had months of group strength training under my belt. I was lifting weights, gradually adding more, feeling stronger. So when I met with Ryan, my coach, I asked him to help me dial in my form—thinking we'd fine-tune a few things and then push forward.

Instead, we stripped the weight. Just me and the bar.

And somehow, I worked harder in that session than in all my previous workouts combined.

This Is Humbling

The session was great, but I couldn’t shake a subtle frustration. I wanted to be better. I didn’t want to go back to the basics.

Ryan must’ve read it all over my face because he looked at me after training and said something to the effect of, “This can humbling.”

And he was right. It was humbling. Because here I was, so preoccupied with avoiding injury, yet wanting to push myself to be great—stuck between playing it safe and demanding expert-level results.

Right now, it feels like I’m in beginner mode with no clear indication of when I’ll be able to flip the switch to expert.

The Trap of Wanting to Be an Expert—Right Now

This feeling—wanting to be great at something before we’ve even put in the reps—isn’t just a gym thing. It shows up everywhere.

• You won’t launch the podcast until you’re a “great” interviewer.

• You won’t start the business until you have a “bulletproof” plan.

• You won’t put your work out there until it’s “flawless.”

It’s neurotic perfectionism. It’s imposter syndrome in reverse. It’s the illusion that mastery is a prerequisite for action.

And if we’re not careful, it becomes a permanent pause button on the things we actually want.

Neurotic Perfectionism: When High Standards Become a Cage

Psychologist Don E. Hamachek was one of the first to differentiate between “normal” perfectionism and neurotic perfectionism.

• Normal perfectionists set high standards but adjust when necessary. They strive for excellence but don’t let the pursuit of perfection paralyze them.

• Neurotic perfectionists, on the other hand, never feel like they’ve done enough. They are overly critical of themselves, struggle to handle mistakes, and find it difficult to adapt.

Mariah Sylvia, a licensed professional counselor, writes in Holistic Wellness Practice that neurotic perfectionists struggle to give themselves grace. Their thought process is often distorted by all-or-nothing thinking, such as:

• “I have to be the best, or I’ve failed.”

• “I can’t make mistakes.”

• “If I don’t get it right on the first try, I’m not good enough.”

According to Sylvia, perfectionism is often rooted in fear. She references Brené Brown, who describes perfectionism as:

But here’s the irony: perfectionism doesn’t just block failure—it blocks success, too. Because when you’re afraid to start until you’re “good enough,” you never start at all.

Stop Trying to Skip the Rep Work

The reality? There is no flipping a switch to expert. You don’t just wake up ready—you become ready by showing up, humbling yourself, and putting in the work.

And if you need proof, take it from two people who embraced the process and built something great:

📌 Jordan’s Story: How to Balance Ambition Without Burning Out
👉 Read The Ambitious Yet Mindful Leader
Striving for excellence is great—until it pushes you to the point of exhaustion. Here’s how to stay focused on your goals without burning yourself out.

📌 Ryan Wilson: Why Small Ideas Keep You Small
👉 A Recap of His Interview on the “Social Proof” podcast
Ryan Wilson, co-founder of The Gathering Spot, built one of the most powerful networking spaces for entrepreneurs and creatives. His story proves that your intended success can come from taking big actions—long before you feel ready.

If you are reading this far…

I hope this message finds you well. I’m sharing from my heart in hopes that you will be inspired to unearth and live out your God-given purpose. Hopefully, something I said resonated. I would love to hear from you if so. Please feel free to reach out to me on social media. FYI: I’m mostly active on Instagram these days. If you were forwarded this message, you can subscribe here to receive thoughts like this directly in your inbox. And don’t forget to check out the latest episode of my podcast, ConvoRoom with Mark Allen Patterson.

See you next week,