Most days, I feel a lot of pressure to be perfect.
Do you feel it too?
Sometimes it feels like this pressure is coming in from all sides. Pressure to wear clothes not covered in peanut butter and finger paint, pressure to work out and be thin, pressure to have a perfectly clean house, pressure to prepare a well balanced meal every night, pressure to have perfect kids who always say cute and charming things when the grandparents are visiting, and who never scream at the doctor's office.
Society doesn't cut us much of a break. Everywhere we turn, there's more pressure to be perfect, another opportunity to compare our life to someone else, and to beat ourselves up for falling short.
Did you know that "Pinterest Stress", is really a thing? Sad but true. TODAY issued a survey to over 7,000 moms across the United States, and found that 42% of participating moms said that Pinterest gave them anxiety. Interestingly, 3/4 of the moms who felt stressed by Pinterest admitted that the majority of the perfection pressure they feel from Pinterest is self-inflicted. Wow! Why do we do this to ourselves? (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/11/pinterest-stress-moms-social-media_n_3253475.html)
Can we learn to be happy with ourselves and our lives exactly as we are?
I'm all for self-improvement and for setting goals, but is there a way to feel good about ourselves during the process?
I love this quote by George Bernard Shaw.
" A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing."
Society doesn't cut us much of a break. Everywhere we turn, there's more pressure to be perfect, another opportunity to compare our life to someone else, and to beat ourselves up for falling short.
Did you know that "Pinterest Stress", is really a thing? Sad but true. TODAY issued a survey to over 7,000 moms across the United States, and found that 42% of participating moms said that Pinterest gave them anxiety. Interestingly, 3/4 of the moms who felt stressed by Pinterest admitted that the majority of the perfection pressure they feel from Pinterest is self-inflicted. Wow! Why do we do this to ourselves? (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/11/pinterest-stress-moms-social-media_n_3253475.html)
Can we learn to be happy with ourselves and our lives exactly as we are?
I'm all for self-improvement and for setting goals, but is there a way to feel good about ourselves during the process?
I love this quote by George Bernard Shaw.
" A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing."
Who came up with the hurtful lie that making mistakes or falling short were terrible things? Making mistakes is a perfect time to take a step back, reevaluate, find a fresh perspective, and try again.
Today, choose to take it easy on yourself. Success lies not in doing things perfectly, but in doing our very best. And friends, you're doing so much better than you think!
Focus on the dozens of little successes that are yours each day. It's amazing the lift that comes when we stop beating ourselves up for not being perfect, and instead congratulate ourselves for doing our best.
So you made very forgettable, way too thin and flat, cookies for your church cookie exchange, (true life story, I lose my ability to bake on this night every year), celebrate that you found time in your busy day to bake at all, and that you got to spend a happy couple of hours with your friends eating cookies. So you packed Skittles for your kids "healthy snack" at school, and got a note from his teacher asking you to please send something healthier next time. Celebrate the fact that 90% of the time, you opt for carrots or an apple, and even occasionally you amaze yourself and your kids by sending homemade muffins.
So you made very forgettable, way too thin and flat, cookies for your church cookie exchange, (true life story, I lose my ability to bake on this night every year), celebrate that you found time in your busy day to bake at all, and that you got to spend a happy couple of hours with your friends eating cookies. So you packed Skittles for your kids "healthy snack" at school, and got a note from his teacher asking you to please send something healthier next time. Celebrate the fact that 90% of the time, you opt for carrots or an apple, and even occasionally you amaze yourself and your kids by sending homemade muffins.
We're all working to be our best, but it's ok to not be perfect today. Keep on trying, and allow yourself to think that sometimes imperfect can be pretty perfect.
Case in Point:
Several months ago, with my four youngest in tow, I set off with high hopes, determined to have an adventure. I wanted to immortalize this moment of spending quality, creative, time with my kiddos, with a photo. All I wanted was five seconds of commitment from these kids. Five seconds to look at the camera and smile. I remember feeling frustrated at how difficult it was to convince these excited, wiggly, kids to stand still long enough for me to snap a good picture After several failed attempts, I gave up on the idea of a perfect picture. I put away my phone, and we went on with our day. Later on, looking back through my pictures, I realized that this crazy, rushed, selfie, with Jonah making his signature, "I hate posing for pictures", silly face, and the baby's face half cut out of the frame, I realized that this was one imperfectly perfect picture! Look at Lottie's bright blue, inquisitive eyes. Jonah's face is pretty hilarious, and even though it wasn't the perfect picture that I was hoping for, this is a moment with my crazy kids that I am so happy to have captured!
Let go of the pressure to be perfect. Keeping on trucking! You are an enormous success just for loving, for accepting, for picking yourself up when you fail, and continuing to TRY every day.
Today's a new day; let's make it purposeful!
Kara
