Perfectly Imperfect! Embracing the chaos and loving who you are.
Ladies, how many of you are wives, mothers, have a full-time career, and a side hustle? And…how many of you hold yourself to some ridiculous standard of having to do it all…resulting in burnout or even worse, thinking you’re a failure? Why are we so hard on ourselves? And…why do we believe we need to do it all and be this image of “perfection”?
Perfection. Does that even exist? The answer in my mind is NO and here is why. We are perfectly imperfect and that’s the way it should be. We are not robots, we are living, breathing, and fabulous human beings. We learn, fail, make mistakes, and succeed. As such, instead of being hard on ourselves for the "learning cycle" of life, we need to embrace the chaos. Embrace the visual imperfections of our bodies. LOVE and be content with who you are, what you do, where you are, and what you aspire to be in life. YES, I said, love your imperfect self. Why? Because you are amazing. You are amazing the way you are, the way God made you, and you should NEVER feel bad for not attaining some ridiculous ideal.
It's easier said than done, am I right?
Growing up, I hated my body, particularly my bust. Maybe it's because I was an athlete, a competitive figure skater and all the activity slowed my growth OR it was plain old genetics. Whatever it was, I was flatter than a pancake. In fact, at the ice rink, my nickname was "dixie cups". You know, those tiny paper cups used for sampling liquids or used at the dentist office to rinse your mouth out. They were tiny, miniature cups. Well...that was me. I was a 32 AA on a good day. For years, I was self-conscious about my chest size. I was young and stupid and thought for some silly reason, my chest size actually mattered. To whom it "mattered" is still a mystery to me but it was a real hang up. It wasn't until I graduated high school that I realized that my chest size meant absolutely nothing. My grades weren't better or worse. I had just as many friends without a large chest as my large chested friends, and I had NO problems finding the love of my life. Soon my biggest imperfection was actually perfection. Overnight, I chose to love and accept myself and focus on things that really DO matter.
Fast forward to current day. I have a full-time career as the Director of the Skin Care Portfolio for a billion dollar corporation, I'm an entrepreneur, wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. I work eight hours in the office and then turn around and burn the midnight oil after hours with Trinity Clothing. I also have an amazing husband and son whom I LOVE and ADORE more than life itself. I have a home, mortgage, car payments, laundry, two dogs, and myself to manage. Though I know there are only 24 hours in a day, leaving me with eight for sleep, eight for my day job, and eight for Trinity and family, I still put this absurd pressure on myself to be perfect. Why? Who cares if my house is spotless? Who cares if the laundry is done or errands are completed? NO ONE, that's who. Honestly, to my friends reading this blog, do you care if my hair is washed or if my office desk is organized or if my laundry is complete? Nope, I'm pretty sure you don't because, I can care less if your hair is washed, if your desk is organized, or if your laundry is complete. Once I stopped putting myself on this "perfection pedestal", I was able to breathe. Able to focus. Able to LOVE who I am and my amazing abilities.
"Perfection Is The Enemy Of Progress"..... Winston Churchill
I love that quote by Winston Churchill. When your focus is perfection, you'll never attain it because perfection does not exist. You were born to be REAL, not PERFECT. The key here is to focus on the things that really matter, the things that will propel you forward. PROGRESS! The things that are important to you and your physical and mental well being. Focus on self-love. Focus on what makes you amazing, courageous, and fierce. Change the world with your good deeds. Make your mark in life and choose progress as your goal rather than perfection. We are real women, with real lives.
For me, writing things down in a planner, helps me truly focus on progress over perfection. A mentor, partner, or good friend who are familiar with your goals and your struggles are great to have. They can help kindly keep you on track, reminding you of the guard rails so that you don't go off course and begin pursuing perfection.
If you're up for a good read, one that is real and transparent, I highly suggest "Girl Wash Your Face" by Rachel Hollis. This book helped reinforce what I already knew which was, we're perfectly imperfect, and that is fine by me!
