Process × Perception = Progress

Alrightyyy, let’s cut to the chase: you’ve spent way too much time trying to be perfect, and where has it gotten you?

Chronically overwhelmed?

Burnt out?

Staring at your to-do list like it personally offended you?

Right. Been there.

Perfection is a scam.

Progress is what actually moves the needle.

And out of the blue one day while on a jaunty walk, I got this download as a magick formula to break out of the cycle of guilt, shame, and overthinking 👀

Process × Perception = Progress

Let’s unpack this in a way that doesn’t sound like it came from a corporate productivity seminar, shall we?

Process = Freedom (Yes, Really)

I know, I know.

“Process” sounds like a bureaucratic nightmare. Rules, structure, routine, discipline—gross. But hear this: process isn’t about restriction.

It’s about making life easier for Future You.

Without a process, every decision becomes a high-stakes existential crisis.

What should I do next?

Is this the right way?

What if I mess up? (Meanwhile, your brain is already halfway to a YouTube rabbit hole to learn how to crochet at 2pm on a Tuesday.)

With a process, you always know the next step—even if you take a scenic detour along the way.

And before you leave this post because you hate structure, listen—you already have a process!

It just might look like controlled chaos.

The trick is making your process work for you instead of constantly fighting against it.

Think of it like a GPS. You don’t have to know every twist and turn. You just need a general direction and the ability to reroute when (not if) you take an unexpected left. We call this, resilience.

Perception: The Mindset Shift That Stops the Spiral

Now, onto the multiplier: perception.

Even the best process won’t help if your brain is stuck in the gap—a.k.a. that fun little place where you focus exclusively on:

❌ How far you haven’t come
❌ How much better you could be
❌ How every single step forward is still not enough

Sound familiar? Thought so.

Here’s the fix: living in the gain.

Instead of measuring yourself against some unrealistic should-have-been timeline, start looking at how far you’ve actually come.

• Didn’t finish your to-do list but knocked out three solid tasks? Gain.
• Started a project and only got halfway before getting distracted? Hey, that’s halfway more than nothing. Gain.
• Got out of bed when everything in you wanted to stay under the covers? That counts too. GAIN.

It’s not toxic positivity—it’s literally rewiring your brain to stop seeing yourself as a constant failure. And for those of us who’ve spent years measuring ourselves against an impossible standard? That’s not just helpful. That’s necessary.

Progress: The Only Thing That Actually Matters

Let’s be real:

• Perfectionism? Useless.
• Hustling yourself into the ground? Overrated.
• Spending all your time worrying about whether you’re doing it right? The absolute BEST way to get nothing done.

Progress, on the other hand? That’s where the magic happens.

When you have a process, you can permit yourself to stop relying on chaotic bursts of motivation to get things done.

When you shift your perception, you stop beating yourself up for not being superhuman. [It me]

When you put them together? You actually start moving forward—without burning yourself to the ground in the process.

The Bottom Line

Progress isn’t about speed. It’s about direction.

Perfectionism wants you to believe that if you can’t do it flawlessly, it’s not worth doing at all. Which, frankly, is the worst possible advice.

Because real success? It’s messy. It’s imperfect. And it happens when you trust your process, shift your perception, and just take the damn step.

So, if you’re staring down a major life shift, drowning in burnout, or just so over feeling like you’re constantly behind—pause.

Your next step doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be forward.

And that? That’s freedom.