Perfect, what is perfect anyway. I have realized over and over again, when I fall into a state of overwhelm, I am usually trying to make everything I am doing perfect. When I say everything, I really mean everything.
How many of us do this? Yes, goals are excellent, don’t get me wrong. However, what about the part where we get to ENJOY the journey along the way? I have had to learn this lesson time and time again in my life; or as I used to say my busy life. You see, I am a single parent, and some may connect with that, others maybe not. Whether you do or not, you probably connect with the fact that your life is busy. Always too busy to do the things you love, always thinking, if I could just do … it would be better.
As a parent, a career woman, a girlfriend, a friend, a daughter, a sister… you get the idea, we wear lots of hats day-to-day. I used to feel so overwhelmed with all that I had to do in a day, make lunches, groceries, pay bills, laundry, that’s just some of the parent stuff. Now what about work, pulled in 800 directions there too? All along I was trying to be all things to all people.
What was I missing? How did I want to show up day-to-day? Who was I? I was lost! I had no idea anymore, just flying along and smiling away. I remember one day at work while waiting to get into the elevator with my good friend. We were heading across the street to buy a coffee. It was another really cold winter day (some background here… I am from Saskatchewan, so there is a part of me that always wants to tough things out, consciously or not). So here we were and she looks at me, and says, “It’s friggin’ cold out there…” and I simply replied, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” She very quick-wittedly replied, “Well, you must be Wonder Woman then.”
You see, she knew me, she still does know me very well. She knew all the hats I was wearing, she knew all of the weight I was carrying. And yet there I was, always with a cheerful smile on my face, just going on and on.
So how does this all tie back to the notion of perfection.
I have now realized ALL OF MY IMPERFECTIONS make me perfect.
My house does not sparkle all of the time. My relationships are not full of love all of the time. My parenting skills could be questioned at times. But, and here is the big but… like Dori, a fish with short-term memory loss from a Walt Disney production, Finding Nemo, says so happily and cluelessly, singing along a happy little tune repeatedly, “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.”
Two philosophies brilliantly come out of this metaphor; strive for perfection and getting the results!
1. Just keep swimming.
Keep your head up, feel the current of the water, keep breathing, enjoy your swim, your journey, whatever path you are on. To keep swimming, sometimes we need to stop and catch our breath and just float for a while, fill our lungs and bodies with deep meaningful oxygen. Float and soak up the rays of the sunshine.
2. Create short-term memory loss for the thoughts that get in your way.
We all know what these are. These are thoughts of self- judgement. It’s that little nagging voice that keeps you from living the life you love. Accept who you are. You are a beautiful being and you have a life purpose worth living for!
