It’s the invisible burden. Perfection. The need to live up to elevated standards set for us by others, and, at times, set by ourselves for ourselves. And even those standards which we set for ourselves are usually measured against some sort of societal yardstick of how we are “supposed” to be living our lives.

I’m sure we’ve all been caught up in the perfection vortex at some point in our lives. Where no matter what we do it’s never good enough. No matter how hard we try it’s still never enough. No matter how much we earn, how fit we are, what we drive, or what we’ve professionally achieved we can find ourselves consistently falling short of the utopian panacea of perfection.

There is a heaviness which comes from not being where we’ve been told we should be. That weight allows no room for self-compassion or grace. Because there is still more work to do.

There will always be more work to do.

Instead of being where I’m supposed to be, I’ve gotten much better at being where I am. Instead of being who I’m supposed to be, I’ve gotten much better at being who I am. 

It’s a different kind of perfection, allowing and accepting is. When you’re not beating yourself down you’re better able to lift yourself up, to support yourself, to create a safe space for self-compassion and grace. I still do have standards and expectations I set for myself, but as a work in constant progress I give myself the space to grow and evolve on my own time schedule, no longer measuring my “success” using someone else’s measuring tape.

It sounds rebellious. Maybe it is. Especially when we’ve been conditioned to having perfection be the unattainable force separating us from the peace we all deserve to experience in life.

Let the rebellion begin.

Photo by Mike Saunders on Unsplash

 

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