“I am currently shopping for a new couch,” one Style Statement client explained in her session. With a lovely French accent, she described her mission: “I am very controlling. I want the pillows a certain size, a certain seat depth…and the fabric has to be a particular shade. It has to feel just right. But I probably shouldn’t be such a control freak.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“It’s annoying,” she said.

Preferences are not personality flaws. They are opportunities to be creative…and sometimes, yes, they’re annoying (to yourself and others). But you’re bound to annoy a few people on your way to excellence.

THIS WEEK: Consider your preferences – for your home, your closest relationships and associations, and your well being. Scan your shrinkage factor: When do you retreat when you’d prefer to insist? Where do you get awkwardly concerned about inconveniencing or displeasing others? When do you say, “That’ll do,” when really, it’s way less than amazing?

When your preferences start to block joy, then you may be on your way to compulsion and inflexibility. Like all powerful things, creative control is best used in proportion with consideration.

Every choice has a consequence. So why not be particular, even outright controlling about what you choose?

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Photo courtesy of keko.