Getting a little reflective today and talking about perfectionism. Perfectionism has the worst connotation, doesn’t it? It means to refuse any standard other than perfect. While I don’t try to be perfect, I do try to do a million and one things as well as I can. I think we all set standards for ourselves on what we want to do and what we want to accomplish. And that’s not a bad thing. Having goals and standards helps define us. But, if you’re like me, you can be a little too hard on yourself. It’s true that we can be our own worst critics. Over the past 12 months, I’ve realized there is so much out of my control. {Hm I wonder who taught me that?!}. While I can want to do everything as best as I can, I need to lower the bar just a little bit and be ok with that.
Social media sadly paints a picture perfect world. Instagram is mainly the guilty one. We can look at someone’s photos and think they live this “perfect” life. They travel the world, have the most well-behaved kids, the tidiest homes, and their hair and makeup are always done. They probably wake up smiling from their 8+ hours of sleep, too! I know this isn’t the case, but it can be easy to fall into this trap of seeing these “perfect” lives and being dissatisfied with our own.
And I don’t want you to think I’m not happy with my life. I am! I’m so blessed to be able to stay home with my baby and work on a job I really and truly love. I might not travel, my child might challenge my very core {& it’s just the beginning!}, and my house might constantly be a mess, but that’s ok. I didn’t wake up looking like this {especially considering I got under 6 hours of sleep}, but life is good, and it really is worth enjoying!
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dress {also here} . heels {under $35!} . bag {lots of other color options too!} . sunglasses . earrings . bracelets . cuff bracelet . ring .
I want to make a promise myself to give up on this idea of perfectionism. Perfection isn’t possible and it will never make me truly happy. I want to be content with the messiness of life, and somehow find a way to enjoy it. I think the first step to giving up on perfectionism is to find out how you can be truly content with where you are in life. For example, right now I’m not getting the best sleep, I’m struggling running a business, being a mom, a wife and a friend. That’s my life right now. But I need to remind myself that life is constantly changing. My situation today is not my situation tomorrow, next week or next year. To be honest, it will only get harder. I know this. But, one day these crazy days will be behind me, and I’ll probably miss them. In fact, I’ll think I didn’t enjoy them quite enough.
So I’m lowering my personal standards and being ok with that. Sometimes I’ll clean and sometimes I’ll go to sleep. Sometimes I’ll work and other times I’ll just relax. Sometimes I’ll cook dinner and other times I’ll order in. Life needs more balance and more acceptance. And possibly more social media breaks!
Do you ever feel like you fall into this perfectionism trap too? Any tips on how to get out of it?
xox
photos by Priscilla Frey
