Perfect isn’t real. I frequently repeat those three words to my students, my friends, and myself. Any time the pressure to become something I am not by nature becomes too great, I remind myself that there is no such thing as perfection.
If you are always chasing perfection, you will never be happy. The problem is that what our world deems as perfect is ever-changing, which means that as soon as you “achieve” it, you’re already behind on the next trend. It makes you realize that if you spend every moment of your life trying to fit yourself into a mold that someone else has deemed as the right way to be, how much time do you have left to live, and I mean actually live?
I admit that I scroll through social media far more than I should, and I know that doing so only hurts me. Every other post is another influencer telling me about another step to dress so I can look better. And I fall for it more often than I’d like to admit. Each time I buy a new skincare product, I wonder if this will be the one that finally fixes my face, my life, me. Skin& Nail Care
But it never does.
And then I feel worse about myself. I avoid taking photos with people I care about while we make memories I know I’ll want to look back on later. It’s all because I am afraid of how I will look in the photo. I am afraid of not being perfect. I am afraid of what posting a “bad” photo on my social media will do to me. I’m afraid of what others will think about my appearance. So I’ve started choosing not to appear at all.
But that is no way to live your life.
Striving for a standard that is literally unachievable will do nothing but rob your life of joy. Wouldn’t you rather be exhausted from having a great time than be exhausted trying to become perfect? Is it so bad to leave the house without your makeup and your hair done? Is it really going to hurt you to post a photo of yourself that isn’t perfect if it reminds you of a time you know you loved?
We have to stop perpetuating these unattainable standards of living. We have to start choosing joy over perfection.
If you’re doing something you love, then why should how you look matter? Why should being the best at an activity be your goal when you can just spend your time enjoying it instead?
When you think back on your favorite memories, is the first thought that pops into your mind how perfect everything was?
I don’t think it is. The first thing we think about is how we felt in the moment, or the way the person we love most smiled at us, and how time seemed to stop because everything was just so good. We think of the joy we felt, not how perfect our hair looked. Romance
You’ll never be perfect because perfect isn’t real. But you will feel joy. And it will be spectacular.
So today, I hope you choose joy. I hope you choose yourself.
