February 27, 2025 • 11 mins
Are you stuck in the endless loop of waiting for the perfect time, plan, or decision? Let’s talk about how everything can turn into perfection paralysis—keeping you frozen instead of moving forward. When every option is on the table, choosing feels impossible. You second-guess, overanalyze, and search for the flawless solution, but here’s the truth: perfection isn’t real.
In this episode, we’re tackling the why behind perfection paralysis and how it stops progress before it even starts. If you’ve ever felt stuck, afraid of making the wrong choice, or overwhelmed by all the options—this one's for you. It’s time to embrace good enough and finally take action!
🎧 Tune in and break free from the perfection trap!
#EverythingMeansPerfectionParalysis #MakingEverydayMagic #ProgressOverPerfection #PerfectionParalysis #JustStart
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This is another one of those videoswhere I am sharing.
Because this is what I'm feeling.
This is what I am going throughand this is what I get stuck in.
And it is the perfection paralysis.
Welcome back to me Everyday Magic.My name is Shanna.
(00:21):
If you're new here we area homeschooling family of four.
We are in our eighth year of homeschoolingand if you don't know, we homeschool
and I actually run a business from home
and contribute to all of this
content here that you are seeing today,I wanted to talk with you about how
when everything is an option,it leads to perfection,
(00:47):
paralysis.
Because before we go any further, pleasescroll down, hit the big red subscribe
button, turn on the bell for notificationsand give this video a thumbs up.
As always, you can find me right on downin the comments or over on Instagram.
Making everyday magic.
I wouldlove for you guys if you would just take
(01:09):
a minute, scroll down to the commentsand give me an example of
when you suffered from paralysis dueto having too many decisions,
or being able, unable to make a decision,or wanting to make the right decision.
So much so that you actually put offgetting anything done.
Because that is something thatI personally am all too familiar with.
(01:33):
And the last video that went up,you guys found out that we are moving.
We are currently in the process of thatnow when I'm filming this,
but by the time you see it, it's a donedeal.
And I have been experiencing
the paralysis that comes with
everything needs to get done.
So it is hard to figure out where to start
(01:55):
and everythingseems to be built on something else.
So where is the right place to start?
And it's hardto figure out where to start.
And then I am just stuck with my mindreeling,
trying to figure out where to start.
And that leads to not.
So it leads to nothing happening.
And this is somethingthat I am all too familiar with
(02:16):
because I do thisalso in my professional life.
So when I wanted to, for example,start a YouTube channel,
I, I did tons of research.
I did tons of things.
I got lots of prep, I did lots of stats,I did a lot of things trying to make it
right, trying to make a good, tryingto make it perfect at some point.
(02:36):
The quest for perfectionkeeps you from taking even the first step.
You have to understandthat you are going to do it wrong.
And I think this especially applies
to homeschool life because
if you are so
hunkered down in this ideathat you have to get it perfect
(02:59):
when it comes to homeschool,if you want to know
what the best curriculum is,if you are in that place
where you are so scaredof getting it wrong
that you can't possibly takethe first step until you know
that it's going to be perfect,you are never going to move forward.
You will never homeschool.
You will never pull your kidsout of school. You will never get started.
If you are that hunkered down in the ideathat it must be perfect.
(03:24):
And I truly believe that it is harder
when everything is an option,when everything is an option,
you just get stuck.
You get stuck inthe fear of doing it wrong.
I wantto come here and I want to share with you
something that will helpyou start to narrow it down.
(03:45):
Because just like kids, it'swhat do you want?
The same thing with dinner, right?
What do you want to eat for dinner?
I have no idea.
I could have anything I want.
I have no idea.
I have never been more unsure of the factthat I consume food,
as when somebody says, well,what do you want?
Well, I just don't know.
(04:05):
It's that same kind of thing.
Or when somebody pops up, you know,we just went through the holiday season.
Well, what do you want for Christmas?
I have never known lessabout what I have wanted for Christmas
than when someone asks.And it is that fear.
I've kind of making the wrong decision.
But also the fact that, you know,there's a million options in the world.
And so from that,it is so hard to narrow it down.
(04:29):
So I want to share with
you, when it comes to homeschooling,
if you can,if you're looking for a curriculum,
if you're looking for choices,if you can just whittle it down a little,
if you can narrow your field of optionsa little,
it can help you combatthat perfection paralysis.
(04:50):
So, for example, in packingand getting ready to go,
there were a lot of things, you know,I can't pack up the homeschool stuff
because we're still homeschooling.
I can't pack up a lot of pack and stuffbecause I'm still doing hair and makeup.
I can't pack at the office
because I'm still activelyrunning a business out of this.
But when I started to realizeinstead of focusing on what I couldn't do,
(05:11):
what I could do, for example,so I can pack up the crystal in the China,
it is unlikely in the next seven daysbetween now and when we are in our
new home, that I am going to usea bunch of crystal in China.
So that is an easy win.
And as a lot of productivitypeople will tell you,
once you start,you're gaining that momentum.
So if you can pack a box,you can likely pack a second box.
(05:34):
And once you start making those decisions,you can easily start
making more decisions.
So I want to encourage you if you areunsure where to start or you are
paralyzed by needing to be perfect,good or right, stop doing that.
Just narrow it down a bit. So maybe
we don't think, oh my gosh, I have to.
(05:54):
I'm going to homeschool my second, fourth
and sixth graders starting next weekand I don't know where to start.
Where do I start?
And you are thinking about second gradeand fourth grade and sixth grade,
and you are thinking about every singlesubject for your second grader, fourth
grader, and sixth grader.
Allow me to suggest that maybe
you pick one, maybe pick one grade.
(06:15):
To start with, let's say we'regoing to start with our fourth grader.
We're starting with our fourth grader.
Okay, I don't know where to start.
What is the best curriculumfor fourth grade?
Let's start with the big rocks.
Just like putting all those rocks sedimentpebbles in a jar in order of priority.
Let's start with the big rocks.
The big rocks for any gradelevel, language arts and math.
(06:37):
Okay,
like the dirt, math,
some sort of science,some sort of history or social settings.
Those are the big rocks, but they are mostimportant language arts and math.
So let's start with language arts.
We're going to start with language artsfor fourth grade.
Okay.
We have narrowed it downto a much smaller selection.
If you can then and I know this is wild,
(06:58):
narrow it down to the type of curriculum
that you think will workbest for your homeschool.
Off the bat.
I'm not asking you to be perfect,I'm just asking you to try.
So if you think that you would love
a group study language Arts where you readaloud to all three of your second,
(07:18):
your fourth,and your sixth graders at one time, start
with that style only.
Look at curriculums that are going to fallin that style and go from there.
And let me tell you, if you find outonce you have started, once you have tried
that,your entire plan has gone down in a fiery
ball of flame that would rival
(07:41):
even the most dramatic Evel Knievelstunt fail.
You can then change
because you've already garneredsome momentum
by starting, by deciding,by narrowing your field just a bit.
So if you know, for example, you've chosenyour sixth grader and you said,
let's look at math and you know thatmath is not your strong suit,
(08:05):
and you know that you would prefer a videobased math lesson,
you can start looking at videobased math lessons.
So instead of having 100 million options
at your disposal,you've narrowed it down to ten.
If you then are going to go a step furtherand say that you would like your math
to be secular,
you've narrowed it down to six.
(08:26):
If you then can go a step further and say,
I want one math programthat's going to go from pre-K
through high school,that narrows it down a lot further.
If you know that your sixth grader
will benefit from a video based secularor math program
that you could follow through all the waythrough high school,
(08:47):
you're only going to havea handful of options.
It's going to be a lot easierto figure out
what is palatable, affordable,and which direction you should take.
So stop looking at the whole map.
We are not going to conquer the worldtoday.
We are going to focus on the single roadahead.
We are going to look only at your street,at your neighborhood where you are.
You're going to choose the best wayto whittle it down and the closest
(09:13):
representation that I can give you is
I want you to think about these thingslike, and guess who?
When you're playing the game of guess Who,you don't start with?
Well, do they have a pearl necklace?
You start with eliminatingthe biggest groups of people first.
Is it a man or is it a woman? Is it a man?
(09:35):
It it's not a man.
You only got like five choices.
So I'm just going to say
when it comes to perfection, paralysis,especially when everything is an option.
And as it relates to homeschool,take the guess who approach.
Start chipping away at those big blocksjust like an ice carver would.
We're going to break it down to a smallersize before we start fine tuning it.
(09:57):
Take the first step, break offthe first hunk, put in the first big rock.
Eliminatethe largest group of people from guest
who do not allow perfectionparalysis to conquer you.
Okay, so this is somethingthat I have been struggling with
and I know that it's one of those thingsthat so many people stress about,
especially when it comes to homeschool,because it's such a weighty decision.
(10:20):
I know how scary it is.
I know how terrifying it is.
I know how many options there are.
Actually,I don't I have genuinely no clue.
There are so many options out there.
If you can whittle it down a little,if you know that your sixth grader
is obsessed with Harry Potterand there is a Harry Potter
literature study that you come across,girl, start there.
That is a great place to start.
(10:42):
Do not get paralyzed.
It is, it is.
It's hard, it's hard. It'shard to keep going.
It's hard parent. It's hard to adult.It's hard to homeschool.
Just don't get paralyzed.
Narrow down those options.
Because when everything's a choice,nothing gets done.
Guys, I hope that you found any of thishelpful, entertaining or informative.
If you did, please scroll downand hit that big red subscribe button.
(11:02):
Turn on your bell for notificationsand give this video a thumbs up.
Like I asked earlier guys,right on down in the comments.
Give us an example of your perfectionparalysis, or
how you narrowed something down to findwhat could be a good fit for you.
And again,it doesn't have to last forever.
You just need to know where to start.
And that is going to take youso incredibly far.
Guys, right on down in the commentsor over on Instagram,
(11:24):
feel free to reach out to me again.
I hope this is valuable by.
This is another one of those videoswhere I am sharing.
Because this is what I'm feeling.
This is what I am going throughand this is what I get stuck in.
And it is the perfection paralysis.
Welcome back to me Everyday Magic.My name is Shanna.
(00:21):
If you're new here we area homeschooling family of four.
We are in our eighth year of homeschoolingand if you don't know, we homeschool
and I actually run a business from home
and contribute to all of this
content here that you are seeing today,I wanted to talk with you about how
when everything is an option,it leads to perfection,
(00:47):
paralysis.
Because before we go any further, pleasescroll down, hit the big red subscribe
button, turn on the bell for notificationsand give this video a thumbs up.
As always, you can find me right on downin the comments or over on Instagram.
Making everyday magic.
I wouldlove for you guys if you would just take
(01:09):
a minute, scroll down to the commentsand give me an example of
when you suffered from paralysis dueto having too many decisions,
or being able, unable to make a decision,or wanting to make the right decision.
So much so that you actually put offgetting anything done.
Because that is something thatI personally am all too familiar with.
(01:33):
And the last video that went up,you guys found out that we are moving.
We are currently in the process of thatnow when I'm filming this,
but by the time you see it, it's a donedeal.
And I have been experiencing
the paralysis that comes with
everything needs to get done.
So it is hard to figure out where to start
(01:55):
and everythingseems to be built on something else.
So where is the right place to start?
And it's hardto figure out where to start.
And then I am just stuck with my mindreeling,
trying to figure out where to start.
And that leads to not.
So it leads to nothing happening.
And this is somethingthat I am all too familiar with
(02:16):
because I do thisalso in my professional life.
So when I wanted to, for example,start a YouTube channel,
I, I did tons of research.
I did tons of things.
I got lots of prep, I did lots of stats,I did a lot of things trying to make it
right, trying to make a good, tryingto make it perfect at some point.
(02:36):
The quest for perfectionkeeps you from taking even the first step.
You have to understandthat you are going to do it wrong.
And I think this especially applies
to homeschool life because
if you are so
hunkered down in this ideathat you have to get it perfect
(02:59):
when it comes to homeschool,if you want to know
what the best curriculum is,if you are in that place
where you are so scaredof getting it wrong
that you can't possibly takethe first step until you know
that it's going to be perfect,you are never going to move forward.
You will never homeschool.
You will never pull your kidsout of school. You will never get started.
If you are that hunkered down in the ideathat it must be perfect.
(03:24):
And I truly believe that it is harder
when everything is an option,when everything is an option,
you just get stuck.
You get stuck inthe fear of doing it wrong.
I wantto come here and I want to share with you
something that will helpyou start to narrow it down.
(03:45):
Because just like kids, it'swhat do you want?
The same thing with dinner, right?
What do you want to eat for dinner?
I have no idea.
I could have anything I want.
I have no idea.
I have never been more unsure of the factthat I consume food,
as when somebody says, well,what do you want?
Well, I just don't know.
(04:05):
It's that same kind of thing.
Or when somebody pops up, you know,we just went through the holiday season.
Well, what do you want for Christmas?
I have never known lessabout what I have wanted for Christmas
than when someone asks.And it is that fear.
I've kind of making the wrong decision.
But also the fact that, you know,there's a million options in the world.
And so from that,it is so hard to narrow it down.
(04:29):
So I want to share with
you, when it comes to homeschooling,
if you can,if you're looking for a curriculum,
if you're looking for choices,if you can just whittle it down a little,
if you can narrow your field of optionsa little,
it can help you combatthat perfection paralysis.
(04:50):
So, for example, in packingand getting ready to go,
there were a lot of things, you know,I can't pack up the homeschool stuff
because we're still homeschooling.
I can't pack up a lot of pack and stuffbecause I'm still doing hair and makeup.
I can't pack at the office
because I'm still activelyrunning a business out of this.
But when I started to realizeinstead of focusing on what I couldn't do,
(05:11):
what I could do, for example,so I can pack up the crystal in the China,
it is unlikely in the next seven daysbetween now and when we are in our
new home, that I am going to usea bunch of crystal in China.
So that is an easy win.
And as a lot of productivitypeople will tell you,
once you start,you're gaining that momentum.
So if you can pack a box,you can likely pack a second box.
(05:34):
And once you start making those decisions,you can easily start
making more decisions.
So I want to encourage you if you areunsure where to start or you are
paralyzed by needing to be perfect,good or right, stop doing that.
Just narrow it down a bit. So maybe
we don't think, oh my gosh, I have to.
(05:54):
I'm going to homeschool my second, fourth
and sixth graders starting next weekand I don't know where to start.
Where do I start?
And you are thinking about second gradeand fourth grade and sixth grade,
and you are thinking about every singlesubject for your second grader, fourth
grader, and sixth grader.
Allow me to suggest that maybe
you pick one, maybe pick one grade.
(06:15):
To start with, let's say we'regoing to start with our fourth grader.
We're starting with our fourth grader.
Okay, I don't know where to start.
What is the best curriculumfor fourth grade?
Let's start with the big rocks.
Just like putting all those rocks sedimentpebbles in a jar in order of priority.
Let's start with the big rocks.
The big rocks for any gradelevel, language arts and math.
(06:37):
Okay,
like the dirt, math,
some sort of science,some sort of history or social settings.
Those are the big rocks, but they are mostimportant language arts and math.
So let's start with language arts.
We're going to start with language artsfor fourth grade.
Okay.
We have narrowed it downto a much smaller selection.
If you can then and I know this is wild,
(06:58):
narrow it down to the type of curriculum
that you think will workbest for your homeschool.
Off the bat.
I'm not asking you to be perfect,I'm just asking you to try.
So if you think that you would love
a group study language Arts where you readaloud to all three of your second,
(07:18):
your fourth,and your sixth graders at one time, start
with that style only.
Look at curriculums that are going to fallin that style and go from there.
And let me tell you, if you find outonce you have started, once you have tried
that,your entire plan has gone down in a fiery
ball of flame that would rival
(07:41):
even the most dramatic Evel Knievelstunt fail.
You can then change
because you've already garneredsome momentum
by starting, by deciding,by narrowing your field just a bit.
So if you know, for example, you've chosenyour sixth grader and you said,
let's look at math and you know thatmath is not your strong suit,
(08:05):
and you know that you would prefer a videobased math lesson,
you can start looking at videobased math lessons.
So instead of having 100 million options
at your disposal,you've narrowed it down to ten.
If you then are going to go a step furtherand say that you would like your math
to be secular,
you've narrowed it down to six.
(08:26):
If you then can go a step further and say,
I want one math programthat's going to go from pre-K
through high school,that narrows it down a lot further.
If you know that your sixth grader
will benefit from a video based secularor math program
that you could follow through all the waythrough high school,
(08:47):
you're only going to havea handful of options.
It's going to be a lot easierto figure out
what is palatable, affordable,and which direction you should take.
So stop looking at the whole map.
We are not going to conquer the worldtoday.
We are going to focus on the single roadahead.
We are going to look only at your street,at your neighborhood where you are.
You're going to choose the best wayto whittle it down and the closest
(09:13):
representation that I can give you is
I want you to think about these thingslike, and guess who?
When you're playing the game of guess Who,you don't start with?
Well, do they have a pearl necklace?
You start with eliminatingthe biggest groups of people first.
Is it a man or is it a woman? Is it a man?
(09:35):
It it's not a man.
You only got like five choices.
So I'm just going to say
when it comes to perfection, paralysis,especially when everything is an option.
And as it relates to homeschool,take the guess who approach.
Start chipping away at those big blocksjust like an ice carver would.
We're going to break it down to a smallersize before we start fine tuning it.
(09:57):
Take the first step, break offthe first hunk, put in the first big rock.
Eliminatethe largest group of people from guest
who do not allow perfectionparalysis to conquer you.
Okay, so this is somethingthat I have been struggling with
and I know that it's one of those thingsthat so many people stress about,
especially when it comes to homeschool,because it's such a weighty decision.
(10:20):
I know how scary it is.
I know how terrifying it is.
I know how many options there are.
Actually,I don't I have genuinely no clue.
There are so many options out there.
If you can whittle it down a little,if you know that your sixth grader
is obsessed with Harry Potterand there is a Harry Potter
literature study that you come across,girl, start there.
That is a great place to start.
(10:42):
Do not get paralyzed.
It is, it is.
It's hard, it's hard. It'shard to keep going.
It's hard parent. It's hard to adult.It's hard to homeschool.
Just don't get paralyzed.
Narrow down those options.
Because when everything's a choice,nothing gets done.
Guys, I hope that you found any of thishelpful, entertaining or informative.
If you did, please scroll downand hit that big red subscribe button.
(11:02):
Turn on your bell for notificationsand give this video a thumbs up.
Like I asked earlier guys,right on down in the comments.
Give us an example of your perfectionparalysis, or
how you narrowed something down to findwhat could be a good fit for you.
And again,it doesn't have to last forever.
You just need to know where to start.
And that is going to take youso incredibly far.
Guys, right on down in the commentsor over on Instagram,
(11:24):
feel free to reach out to me again.
I hope this is valuable by.
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