The Price of Perfection: A Slice of Life

Hi everyone! This is a post to share something that I think is a little bit entertaining and funny.  Enjoy!

Last week I started a series on perfectionism.  It evolved from being challenged to create a talk that I can give to others as a life coach.  I chose the topic of perfectionism because it has impacted my life and I believe it is something that is relatable for many others.  I have also found a lot more freedom in my life once I began the process of overcoming this mentality. 

Since the purpose is to give this as a talk in the future, I decided to share it as an audio file with you all.  This is the first time I have done anything in this format, so I thought it was a great example to give about the process of just starting something and not waiting for things to be perfect. 

I began with using my phone microphone to record everything.  It did not catch all the sound at the end of my sentences causing my voice to drop out at times.  My dilemma was I had set a personal deadline for when I would send the recording to someone for feedback before finalizing and publishing the piece. The deadline was fast approaching.  I thought to myself, “Well, it isn’t perfect, but it is good enough to send since I do not want to drag my heels on it.”  Beep Boop.  Send.  (Okay, maybe my email didn’t make that sound when I sent it, but it seemed fun to say it anyway).  Even though it was high enough quality to send to get feedback on the content, there was definitely room for improvement on the sound itself.  I asked Jeff about it, and he suggested an external microphone.  Aha! Off to the world of Amazon!  A couple of days later, ding dong.  The Amazon package arrived.  (Alright, they don’t actually ring our doorbell.  It is more of Anza, our dog, grumbling so we know someone is at the door).

I was excited.  This problem is about to be solved!  I hooked up the external microphone and it did correct the problem of my voice dropping out at the end of sentences.  Hooray!  But wait, a new problem.  Why do I sound like I am recording in a tin can?  Aside from not enjoying the sound of my own voice (isn’t it weird how your voice doesn’t bother you but when you hear a recorded version you think, “is THAT what I sound like?”… maybe it’s just me…), the quality of the sound itself was sharp and grating.  Even I could not listen to it, how could I ask you all to listen to it.  I hopped on Google to look up information about acoustics and learned that there are likely not enough soft surfaces in our home since we do not have carpeting etc., so the sound quality will not be as good. 

The solution is what makes me laugh the most.  I had to create a “studio” to record in.  Where could I find a place that has soft surfaces to absorb some of the sharp sounds?  Should I buy a carpet?  What else could I use for carpeting?

I present to you my “studio”! 

It is literally me sitting in our walk-in closet that has many clothes to serve as soft surfaces.  The flooring is still tile but I found a solution for that… a make-shift carpet that is, in all reality, Anza’s dog bed.  Thanks to Tina, my sister, for sending Anza an exceptionally large dog bed that I can use as well!  Anza likes to sit next to me on the bed while I record (or perhaps she is trying to keep her claim on the bed) and honestly, it can get a little toasty in there when I shut the door to record. 

What I love about this is that my “studio” emerged from needing to record a series called “The Price of Perfection”.  This is about as imperfect as you can get for a studio, but I love it.  The whole process was one where I had to be okay with failing at something new, with getting feedback to improve the sound, with diving in and not waiting for everything to be just perfect but rather getting a little bit dirty with some Anza fur on me to make it work.  I love how God had already provided everything I needed if I was just willing to look around and be creative.  The imperfections of this entire scenario make me laugh and I find joy in it all rather than stress about how far short this falls from “perfection”.

Tomorrow I will post part 2 of my talk.  As an FYI, I have been releasing this audio series, “The Price of Perfection,” as content for paid subscribers only.  If you are a free subscriber and are waiting for content, hang in there.  There will be a free post in another week or two when we get back to faith journeys. 

Happy Fourth of July everyone!

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