Jessi Arrington: Color-Obsessed Thrift Shopper Extraordinaire

Jessi Arrington is a Brooklyn based, color-obsessed designer and founder of the design firm WORKSHOP. Her favorite color is rainbow and she’s made a hobby out of wearing nothing new because it’s healthier for the environment, her wallet and offers her the opportunity to indulge her unique fashion sense!

She recently gave a lecture for TED and I was so fascinated by her personal style and spirit that I wanted to share her thoughts with all of you.

If you’d like to read more about what she thinks about color and design and thrift store shopping, check out her blog at LuckySoAndSo.com!

I just did and came across the most eloquent and insightful post about her struggles with perfectionism and procrastination, which just so happen to go hand in hand...something I never actually realized until tonight!

One mental epiphany later, I had to share the link to the post because it so perfectly articulates how I feel inside.

So This is What an Epiphany Feels Like

I can’t believe I hadn’t seen the connection before; it seems so obvious now! I put off things that seem like a challenge because of the fear that they won’t come out “perfect” or as I envisioned. Instead, I delay them in order to do the mindless tasks that I know how to accomplish easily and with little thought.

But I’m starting to realize that I’d rather be faced with the task of problem solving a challenging project than deal with the stress of procrastination. Because at the end of the day, I want that feeling of satisfaction and pride that I get after taking the leap of faith and seeing a challenging project through.

And that great feeling has always been my motivation to move on to the next project. But just like falling out of the habit of working out, it’s hard to get back on the wagon after getting lazy. So I’m going to siphon the inspiration from all the amazing Olympians that I’ve been watching all week and use it to fuel my motivation to put down the TV remote and accomplish something!

There is a week left of the Winter Olympics though, sooo there’s a slight chance that I’ll continue to siphon a little bit longer before I put down the TV remote. I mean the Olympics only come around once every four years!

Still a Work in Progress

Tonight marks the fourth day that I stayed home from work because of recent back-to-back snowstorms. Yet even with all that free time, I still managed to find plenty of things to do instead of starting the ‘big project’ that I’ve wanted to work on for months.

And the sad, very sad irony is that the main excuse I give for putting it off in the first place is lack of time. ARGH!!!

I know it’s only been a month since I started this journey to kill procrastination but I’m a perfectionist*, which means I set pretty high standards for myself. And frankly, I would have liked to seen more progress at this point.

Wait a second; I sense that I’m on to something. I think there might actually be a connection between my procrastination and my perfectionist tendencies.

Holy hell, I think I’ve just had an epiphany! Does this mean I’m growing as a person??

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* For all those wondering, yes I am a Virgo and a stereotypical one at that! I am loyal, super organized and prone to perfectionist tendencies.