75 Curate Week 1: Perfectionism, Systems & the Beauty of Starting Ugly
Discipline is hard — perfectionism makes it harder. Progress happens in the mess. Perfection is a myth, but consistency and systems make the difference.
This Week's Progress
First off, I'd like to admit—I'm a little disappointed that it's taken me until Thursday to post about last week's progress. I know life happens, but I'm really out here trying to be consistent and disciplined on this journey to curate my life.
I was only consistent for the first three days before things got haywire. My mom visited—and nothing on her—but it's so much harder for me to curate and create when there's someone else around. Then healthy eating? Right out the window. To be fair, it was my luteal phase—cravings were on ten. In the past, I would've pushed through, but this time I obliged and fed my uterus... hahaha.
It's got me thinking a lot about understanding my body's patterns—my menstrual cycle, my energy levels—and planning around them. I guess that's what makes a system productive. I read something recently that said it's not just about setting goals and challenges—it's about creating a system that allows you to consistently achieve those goals. And honestly? I'm learning that planning is absolutely tea. Planning around your body is even better.
Like, why would I schedule four workouts a week and expect to stick to that when I know I have heavy periods and would absolutely not be making it to the gym—less a full-blown session? Some people would call that lazy. But maybe smart planning looks like swapping gym workouts for light walks during period weeks. It's still progress.
Progress, not perfection—I'm locking that in.
This Week's Hard Thought: Perfectionism
I've been a slave to perfection my whole life. I often look back—almost fondly—at the moment in primary school, Primary 5 to be exact, when I stopped putting my hand up to answer questions. It might sound small, even silly, but that was the beginning of me silencing myself. I was scared of getting the answer wrong, so I stayed quiet. Many times, I would mumble the answer under my breath—and more often than not, it would be correct.
That fear followed me. Now, in the workplace, I'm still shackled to perfection. It seeps into my catering business, my dreams, my ideas. I refuse to start if the vision isn't perfect. I get caught in a loop—refining, tweaking, obsessing—until the fire dies out and I quietly give up.
But these days, I'm learning to just start. To do it scared. To do it imperfectly. The more I show up, the more I fill in the gaps. I'm realizing it's okay to fail at the beginning. It's okay to be bad at something. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day.
Social media does a great job of showing the perfect, polished moments. It rarely shows the messy starts, the rejections, the sweat, or the tears. What looks like overnight success is often the result of years of discipline, resilience, and hard work—bundled up to look like one week's progress.
I'm learning to rewire my brain. To ground myself in the truth that good things take time.
"When perfectionism keeps us standing still, we miss out on all the marvelous things our brains and bodies are capable of making. Sometimes getting unstuck is as simple as subverting "perfect" and finding joy in the ugly." Lore Alexander
Like Lore Alexander says, I've missed out on so many beautiful ideas and plans because I was so scared of not getting them perfect. But life itself is beautiful—it's okay to create ugly, imperfect things. The beauty of the human experience is that practice makes perfection, not creation.
A word to myself: Uday, please—it's absolutely okay for your first try, your first attempt, to be messy. The key is to keep going, keep creating. Learning and adjustments will come, and perfection will slip in slowly. And if it doesn't? So be it. That doesn't diminish your efforts. You're still moving forward.
Rapid Fire - What Worked This Week:
Mindfulness at Work: I practiced mindfulness—took walks when work got too hectic, reminded myself to breathe, and kept the perspective that I'm not performing brain surgery—nobody's gonna die. That little reminder helped me ground myself and let go of unnecessary pressure.
Quest 1: Painting & Clay: I tried my hands at painting and clay work. The painting? Absolutely horrible, hahah—but genuinely so stress-relieving. Mixing colors, feeling the brush strokes—it felt good to create just because. No rules, no pressure—just emotions on paper. A little pseudo art journaling, you could say. The clay on the other hand... yeah, we will not be speaking on that. But I'll be trying again in the coming weeks.
Closed Mouths Don’t Get Fed: Something I always tell myself—put it out into the universe. Say how you feel, speak on your dreams and goals, and watch your reality adjust. It stayed with me all week. I got free donuts and croissants simply by asking—may seem small, but everything starts somewhere. Best believe I'm applying this to every area of my life.
Quest 2: Changing Up My Style: This summer, my one goal is to be happy, to explore, to enjoy, to curate, and to engage as much as possible. Being thick and too conscious of my weight, I've stuck to dark clothing for too long. But the truth is—when you look good, you feel good. You engage better—sorry, I don't make the rules.
I found an amazing personal shopper curating my summer looks—pricey, but honestly so worth it. I don't have to neglect my desires just because I want to lose weight. That's the whole point of building systems that work with me, not against me. I'm buying colors, patterns, short shorts, baggy pants—things that make my heart warm. When you feel good, you engage with the world better—and I already know that's going to carry me through the summer.
Finally;
Week 1 of 75 Curate reminded me that the hardest part of discipline is letting go of perfection. I've spent so much of my life waiting to be ready, when the truth is — you learn by doing. This week, I stumbled through mindfulness, ugly art, and navigating my body's rhythms. I'm learning to build systems that work with me, not against me — and to trust that showing up messy is still showing up.
Till next time folks,
xx
Uday