I’ve been thinking a lot about perfection lately..

My Spanish family holiday is providing me with great fodder to make reflections on the lens through which I see my world and it ain’t always pretty. You know what I’m talking about. We all go through periods in our lives when we are disproportionally bothered about the outcome of things – more so than what is good for us and it can add a lot of pressure to our lives.

There are of course areas which are particularly prone to a bit of obsessing, like creating the perfect relationships with a loved one, rearing children perfectly and all that comes with being a parent generally. There is enough in that topic alone to create stress, anxiety and worry if things do not seem to go as planned.  We have a ‘perfect’ picture in our minds of how things ought to be, how others ought to be with us, and when that is not what we see projected in our lives it seems we are failing, right? So what to do?

Today I’ve got 2 Top Tips that I try to keep in mind when perfection enters the room.

Number 1: Stop the inner critic and give yourself a break.

You are OK. The last thing you need is more criticism. So what if your kids are having tantrums and you feel like you want to tear your hair out when they don’t listen (teenage parents anyone?). Tomorrow is a new day and with that comes the freedom to start again. If you are in an imperfect career, romantic relationship or less than ideal home just know you are doing the best you can with the tools you have at your disposal today.

If we spent as much time being happy with who we are instead of criticising ourselves we’d be half way to the moon by now. If you are in the grips of Perfection then take a deep breath, try and sneak away for 15 minutes to meditate and then write down all the great qualities you have and the things in your life for which you are deeply grateful. This is the result of you.

Number 2: Stop comparing and know that no one is perfect.

Know that we are all flawed one way or another so stop comparing yourself to other people, their lives or their successes. What is presented publicly is not necessarily what really is going on in private anyway. We live in an Instagram/Facebook world where everyone’s lives seems lively, happy, successful and carefree. Utter tosh!

We all go through periods of feeling sad, lonely, confused, old, too fat, too thin, too dumb, not educated enough, too educated, not successful enough etc. The constant message we seem to give ourselves is that we are never quite good ENOUGH!  You ARE good enough just by being you. Everyone has got their own path to travel so make a pact with yourself today and be authentically you. Bring forth that which only you can bring to this world. You are not going to suit everyone and neither does everyone suit you. Just. Be. You.

I wish you a wonderful day.

Much love,

Birgitta x