You Did Not Come Here to be Perfect

Have you ever had one of those days? One of those days where it feels like you just can’t do anything right?

Maybe you’ve had some minor mishap that day: you spill your coffee, you stub your toe, you break a nail, you snag your sweater on something.  Super annoying stuff.

Or maybe you’ve had some more major issues that day: a fight with a friend, a marriage teetering on the edge, disagreements with your boss, tension with your neighbors.

You might look at those situations and think of all of the ways you fell short.  You might think if you were just a better friend, a better partner, a better employee, a better person… maybe none of that would have happened.

“Maybe if I could just be perfect, things would be better.”

In a society obsessed with image and excellence, it’s easy to believe that if we fall short of the absolute best that we are worthless. If you spend any part of your day scrolling through social media, or watching TV, it’s easy to believe that everyone else is just easily and flawlessly floating through life and has it all figured out.

I promise you, they do not.

WE DO NOT.

Humans are messy. Humans make mistakes. Humans fuck things up constantly. It is our way. That’s part of the game of life we are playing.

We may be good at pretending we have it all figured out. We are pretty good at putting on a brave face when we leave our houses and go out into the world for the day.

But we are winging it, and getting it wrong along the way.

And that’s okay! It’s great even. You know why? Because:

You did not come here to be perfect.

You came to this Earth to experience things, learn things, mess it all up, try new things, taste things, hear things, smell things, touch things. Make mistakes. Small mistakes, BIG MISTAKES. You came here for all of it.

You’re going to experience both joy and pain. You came here to get on your little cosmic bicycle, feel the wind in your hair, and then hit a rock and scrape your proverbial knee.

It’s part of the deal, beloved.

If you didn’t experience those mishaps, if you didn’t feel those pains, if you’re didn’t make those mistakes, you wouldn’t be able to experience and appreciate joy and wonder and success.

For many of us, we worry that if we don’t hold ourselves up to that impossible standard of perfection that we will sink into a steady lifetime of abject failure.

I promise you that won’t happen.

You’re allowed to be gentle with yourself. You’re allowed to let yourself make mistakes.  You’re allowed to be kind to yourself while you navigate the ups and downs and ebbs and flows of life.

And you don’t need permission from anyone to do so.

But.

If you’re struggling in this moment and you need permission from someone, then take it from me. I give you permission. And I’m qualified, because I’m an A+ pro fuck up of the highest order. I’ve made probably every single mistake a person can make, so I give you permission to forgive yourself, and love yourself, and be nice to yourself for any mistake you’ve made.

Take a deep breath.

One more.

And say out loud (or in your mind if you’re in public):

I did not come here to be perfect.

Now go, and have a fucked up, messed up, mistake filled day. ⭐️

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