It is amazing how many people are unhappy and struggling to fit into this strange society we live in. The demands and pressures pile on creating a stress-filled life where your only goal is to strike a balance between overachieving and keeping your shit together.
From physical to mental to emotional to spiritual, there are constant societal reminders all around us that go from extreme to extreme. It seems that we’re either watching a violent tragedy unfold or reading about how a genius is changing the world. Where do the rest of us fit in?
Most of us live an ordinary life, yet we constantly push ourselves to do more and be more because in today’s world, no one celebrates being average. That’s a lot of pressure. Like, the type of pressure that’s enough to launch a rocket to the moon. Except the way our bodies work, we’re making ourselves sick and the only stars we’re seeing is from being dizzily overwhelmed. We’d rather have a heart attack and be told we have to stop before feeling like we threw in the towel.
It goes without saying that this is extremely dangerous. It’s even more dangerous now that we live in an instant gratification society. We want it all and we want it now. As I like to put it, we want insta-health and insta-wealth.
What are you really sacrificing?
I would no way ever imply that anyone should settle, but on the flip side, I hate to see people sacrificing their health. There is a physical breakdown, but there’s also a mental and emotional breakdown that manifests into serious issues. Being unhappy and stressed poisons the body. And as if that’s not enough, what kind of stress are we putting on the people who love us and want nothing more than to see us happy? Imagine how they feel watching you suffer knowing they can’t do anything about it.
Instead of focusing on what we don’t have, let’s focus more on what we do have. One day something will happen that will break your heart. You’ll have a real reason to be unhappy. You’ll lose someone you love. You’ll think about how silly it was that you obsessed over not putting in enough time at the office when the person who’s no longer here, was at home waiting to spend time with you. Makes you think.
What can you do instead?
I’d like to propose that we learn how to enjoy being imperfect. Go after your goals and dreams, but learn how to chill out and enjoy life at the same time. In your final moments, you’re not going to look back and think about the few extra pounds that you carried; you’re going to think about your kids, your family, your loved ones, and your cherished memories. You’re not going to look back at your failures; you’re going to celebrate the things that made you smile.
Instead of going to bed at night thinking about how you wasted the day and how you can make up for it tomorrow, give yourself props for what you did accomplish. Know that doing your best is always enough.
Three ways to be imperfect, happy and reach your goals
- My suggestion is that you start by celebrating what you do have. Put your gratitude into action. What do I mean by that? Be of service. Service your heart by being nice to yourself and be of service to others who could benefit from what you have to offer. It doesn’t have to be a major commitment. You could simply offer kind words to someone who is struggling or say a prayer for a stranger. Be a source of love and light in someone else’s world.
- Secondly, break your goals down by choosing to focus on the one that is the most important to you. If you’re like me, you tend to have 99 goals at once and then get frustrated when you don’t achieve them all simultaneously. Choose the one that you want to achieve first. Next, take that goal and break it down into bite-sized goals. You can then decide what you’ll do during the day to help you get closer to your mini-goal.
- And finally, at the end of the day, celebrate what you did achieve. Write it down. At the very least, affirm that you did your best. Do this right before going to sleep. Drift off into a peacefully satisfied slumber.
Put Love First
Achievements don’t have to be all or nothing, but love is everything. Your life that is right in front of you in this moment is everything. Go for your dreams and work at it, but give yourself permission to be happily imperfect.
No one has it all figured out and everyone has things that they wish were different. No one is exempt from this. It’s just the way life is.
Think about it this way: We’re all just souls on an endless journey. Don’t miss out on enjoying yours.
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