Anything worth doing is worth doing badly!

This adage about doing things badly came to mind yesterday when I was cleaning the oven. Great damage has been done to countless unsuspecting children when well meaning but misinformed parents drilled into them the idea that, "anything worth doing is worth doing well." This is the mantra of sanctified perfectionism and causes no end of hardship and trouble. Before you think I've gone off the deep end let me give you an illustration from my life.
It's not that I remember actually being taught that anything worth doing is worth doing well but I believed it. So, when I first went to do some painting, I didn't do very well. The shame of doing something badly was too much so I decided I'd never do that again. So, to this day, I've never become a painter. I was squelched by a perfection I could not achieve. Now, if someone would have taught me, "anything worth doing is worth doing badly" my first attempt at painting would not have been so traumatic. Who knows, maybe I would have been painting our house every few years.
Well...now I feel better.