Failing to succeed

First week of blogging and I've already missed two days. Good thing this isn't a job or I'd be fired, right? 

Ah, well. Yesterday was spent in a mad dash of cleaning to prepare for having people over last night. I'm not a very good housekeeper and, though this is technically a bad habit, I'm not going to rectify it. Sure, I'll try to improve individual issues, such as laundry, but on the whole? No. 

The very second we can afford it, we're hiring a cleaning service. I don't like cleaning, I don't want to clean, and I don't see how becoming a better cleaner would improve me in any way. Plus, we (husband and I) like our free time, and it's worth it to us to essentially buy more free time by paying someone else to do a job they are good at.

But enough of that. This little project has forced me to think about my bad habits, and one that I do want to address is my inability to complete projects. Here's my pattern: I start something, I get 95% done, at which point I freak out a bit because maybe I'm worried it won't turn out "right" or maybe I see that it definitely isn't what I'd planned, and so I step away for a moment to assess with the intention of returning once I've figured out how to fix it.

Of course, I almost never get back to it. Things I've walked away from recently: a dress I made that only needs the hem done, but I don't like how the sleeves look; a bulletin board which I want to cover in fabric but can't pick one; a very easy wall decor item ready to be installed, but I can't decide on the best method to do so; ebay listings for which I've prepared the items and written descriptions, but need to take photos; a pillow which is ready to be finished but I can't decide on trim; and the list goes ON AND ON.

Today I'm going to pick a couple of these things and just finish them, damn the consequences. The reason this became a bad habit is that I'm uncomfortable with unknown outcomes; they make me nervous. Theoretically, I know it's ok to "fail", which is my word for something that isn't perfect, but actually allowing myself to fail? Hard. I need to take more risks and be less hesitant, and this habit seems like a good place to start.