Shooting for B-

May 29, 2025

Welcome to Edition #3 of The Calm Hustle! This week’s theme is one many of us know intimately: perfectionism 🎯

It often shows up quietly—as procrastination, self-doubt, or the pressure to get it just right before we begin. But behind it is usually fear—of failure, of judgment, of not measuring up.

The irony? Our pursuit of perfection rarely creates momentum and flow. More often, it keeps us stuck, stressed, and disconnected from the joy of learning.

In this issue, you’ll find practical insights, tools, and questions to help you loosen the grip of perfectionism and move forward—with more grace, creativity, and self-trust.

Let’s dive in (even if it’s not perfect). 🥉

FRAMEWORK
Shooting for B-

Social media makes it seem like everyone’s crushing it 24/7—perfect body, perfect career, perfect house, perfect vacation. It’s everyone’s highlight reel. No wonder we constantly feel like we’re falling short. 🦥

Many of us grew up believing that anything less than an A+ meant we weren’t good enough or trying hard enough. Destined for a life of mediocrity.

That pressure followed us into adulthood, where we feel the need to excel at everything—from our careers to our fitness to the tidiness of our abodes.

But that kind of pressure? It’s… exhausting. A shame spiral that contributes to burnout. And the ironic part is that while most of us feel like we’re barely holding on, we’re actually doing pretty damn well.

Enter the “Shoot for B-” framework.

Aim for a little better than good enough, and save your A+ energy for the few things that actually matter.

This mindset has brought so much calm into my life:

And that’s the point.

It gives me the grace and space to tend to every domain in my life—without feeling like I’m failing just because I’m not excelling at everything.

Here’s the truth:

Doing a decent job and showing up beats chasing perfection or never starting.

Most of us don’t want to be singularly focused like Elon Musk, becoming excessively wealthy (A+) while being estranged from most of his 13 children. (F-)

COACHING QUESTION
Where am I putting pressure on myself to be perfect or productive all the time?

I often ask this when I’m stuck—either avoiding a task or endlessly tweaking/brainstorming.

Take this newsletter. I delayed launching it because I wanted it to be perfect. Underneath that was fear: of failure, of embarrassment, of falling short of the quality I see in others’ work. That pressure led to procrastination and self-doubt.

So I gave myself permission to launch a B- version and reminded myself: even negative feedback is helpful, and a product that flops doesn’t mean I am a flop.

The same goes for productivity. Like many, I struggle with toxic productivity—feeling guilty for resting or not optimizing every work block for fear of falling behind.

This question helps me catch those patterns—and respond with curiosity and compassion instead of self-criticism.

QUOTE
"I can handle whatever comes my way.” - Susan Jeffers

More mantra than quote, this one stuck with me.

In Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, Jeffers explains that behind most fear—failure, rejection, even success—is the deeper worry:

That fear keeps us from launching the blog, ending the relationship, having the hard conversation.

But here’s the truth: You can handle more than you think.

How do you know you can handle it? Simple: reflect on 2–3 times you acted despite fear—and not only handled it, but grew from it.

For example, I’m considering launching a new coaching program for men, which first means having 10–15 discovery calls. That brings up fear—rejection, failure, the usual.

But then I remember:
“Dude, you owned a high end rug business. At pop-ups you’d get 50 rejections before one sale. You pitched all day, ate your balls for lunch (not literally 😬), and still came out stronger. You can handle 10 conversations.”

You’ve done hard things before. You can do this too 💪

RECOMMENDATIONS
The Hotlist For the Week

✅ Audiobook: Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway, by Susan Jeffers. If fear is holding you back from something, give this a listen. Even just for the first two chapters.
✅ Book: The Now Habit, by Neil Fiore is a powerful that helps perfectionists break free from procrastination by reframing work, reducing guilt, and learning how to love the process instead of hyper focusing on the outcome.
✅ Podcast: Hidden Brain—Escaping Perfectionism — Psychologist Thomas Curran explains how letting go of the need to be flawless can lead to more freedom, resilience, and joy.
✅ Herb: Holy Basil (Tulsi). I first came across this herb while traveling in India, which they call the Queen of the Herbs. I take it on a daily basis. It helps with mental clarity and generalized anxiety.

POLL
Trivia!!

REFERRAL SHOUT OUT
Calm Hustle Referral Shout Out!

I want to give a shout out to Pat Niehoff for being the first Calm Hustle Crew MVP by referring this newsletter! (cue the trumpets 🎺 )

If you know someone who may appreciate this newsletter, feel free to share it using the link below and start receiving awesome rewards, like a Dinette Set from Duchess Furniture! (Just kidding) You can see the rewards below 👇