I have been working on this post all week. It has had several different incarnations: self-acceptance, adding creativity to our daily lives, defining ourselves. But each topic didn’t quite feel right for this week. Nothing fit for what needed to be said today. Good topics, but no. Helpful ideas, but no. Absolutely brilliant conclusions, but no. (You’re just gonna have to trust me on that last one.) With each attempt, the pressure started to build. Well, hello worry that I can’t do this and welcome fear that I will never have anything to write about again and I’ve been expecting you panic that this has all been a gigantic mistake. And then while I’m doing the anxiety spiral in my head, I remembered this truth that always rescues me in these moments:
THIS IS NOT LIFE OR DEATH.
Believe it or not, most of what I do -day in, day out- is not life threatening. No life hangs precariously in the balance while I run errands, make my plans, work, care for my family and all the little things that I do on a daily basis. The Earth continues in its orbit even if what I do isn’t perfect, just so, or adheres to some set of rules that I don’t even know about thereby dooming me to failure.
Nope, life continues…and will continue, no matter how far up in my head space I choose to live. People of the world will continue to breathe, eat, sleep regardless of whether or not I decide to stress myself out about a blog post. So, let me repeat: This is not life or death.
Phew. What a relief. When we choose to live in worry and stress and perfectionism, what we are really saying is (hands on hips, staring resolutely off into the distance), “I AM SO POWERFUL THAT I MUST DO EVERYTHING JUST SO BECAUSE EVERYTHING DEPENDS ON IT.”
Time to retire the cape, Sweet Pea. It’s been done and really isn’t as versatile an accessory as they made it out to be.
Live true to yourself because it feels good, because it allows you to share with the world more of what is uniquely you. Living true to you is not added pressure. In fact, it is the opposite. Let go of those things that feel like “shoulds”, those things that feel like some outer definition of who you should be and just be who you are. Live true to you. It’s just so much easier.
Superheroes Need Not Apply:
“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” -Lao Tzu
In what areas of your life are you struggling with perfectionism? What things in your life are you only doing because you think you “should”? Stop. Stop today. Let go of the “should”. Let go of the idea that you have to do anything perfectly. Now take a moment. Do you see any dead bodies? No? What else can you give yourself permission to let go of now that you know no one will die? Let them go and live true to you because, in the best possible way, your life depends on it.
Live True To You 