Life doesn't always work like it should.
Yeah, I know. Really general and cliche kind of title, but go with me here.
Remember that time we talked about having an Alpha personality? Okay, well sometimes part of that includes being a crazy and borderline psychotic perfectionist about EVERY. LITTLE. THING.
Let me tell you something.
Sometimes, that shit is annoying.
Speaking as someone who does the whole perfectionist thing a lot of the time, not only is it annoying and exhausting for you, it's frustrating for the people around you too.
Not everything in life is going to be perfect (unless you get incredibly lucky) and that's okay. It doesn't have to be. What will make life so much easier though, is letting go of the things that you can't make perfect - which sometimes is a LOT of things.
Small example: picking out a "just because" card for my boyfriend.
What used to happen: I would go to Wegmans (i.e. the grocery shopping mecca) and stand in the greeting card aisle for what seemed like ages, looking for the "just because" section. (Is it just me or is the greeting card aisle getting more and more specific? Birthday cards are now "birthday for him" or "birthday for her" and those have sub-categories for sisters and moms and wives and daughters and grandmothers and female dogwalkers) THERE IS NO JUST BECAUSE SECTION. So I went looking for the cards that are blank inside, looking for the perfect picture that would represent him/us/our relationship/stage in our lives/whatever the fuck because oh my god it has to be perfect or he's going to hate it. (False.)
What happens now: Go to Wegmans, pick up random card with funny picture/cute puppy/useable message and write something heartfelt inside. It could even be a get well soon card or something that doesn't make any sense at all, but the gesture is there and that's what matters.
See how much easier that was?
Yeah, I know, buying someone who already loves you a card and just picking one out and doing it because you're thinking about him/her isn't that difficult of a thing to just let be imperfect, but damnit, it's a step.
It's amazing how much less stressful picking out a card was after I just let it happen and let the GESTURE do the talking instead of the OBJECT. (Granted this doesn't work for every single person, because my boyfriend is a pretty awesome individual who appreciates my efforts even when I screw something up.)
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make here is that the outcome of whatever you're doing isn't always the most important thing. Sometimes, the efforts put in and the lesson learned along the way are far more important. You know, it's about the journey, not the destination, and all that jazz.
Remember that time we talked about having an Alpha personality? Okay, well sometimes part of that includes being a crazy and borderline psychotic perfectionist about EVERY. LITTLE. THING.
Let me tell you something.
Sometimes, that shit is annoying.
Speaking as someone who does the whole perfectionist thing a lot of the time, not only is it annoying and exhausting for you, it's frustrating for the people around you too.
Not everything in life is going to be perfect (unless you get incredibly lucky) and that's okay. It doesn't have to be. What will make life so much easier though, is letting go of the things that you can't make perfect - which sometimes is a LOT of things.
Small example: picking out a "just because" card for my boyfriend.
What used to happen: I would go to Wegmans (i.e. the grocery shopping mecca) and stand in the greeting card aisle for what seemed like ages, looking for the "just because" section. (Is it just me or is the greeting card aisle getting more and more specific? Birthday cards are now "birthday for him" or "birthday for her" and those have sub-categories for sisters and moms and wives and daughters and grandmothers and female dogwalkers) THERE IS NO JUST BECAUSE SECTION. So I went looking for the cards that are blank inside, looking for the perfect picture that would represent him/us/our relationship/stage in our lives/whatever the fuck because oh my god it has to be perfect or he's going to hate it. (False.)
What happens now: Go to Wegmans, pick up random card with funny picture/cute puppy/useable message and write something heartfelt inside. It could even be a get well soon card or something that doesn't make any sense at all, but the gesture is there and that's what matters.
See how much easier that was?
Yeah, I know, buying someone who already loves you a card and just picking one out and doing it because you're thinking about him/her isn't that difficult of a thing to just let be imperfect, but damnit, it's a step.
It's amazing how much less stressful picking out a card was after I just let it happen and let the GESTURE do the talking instead of the OBJECT. (Granted this doesn't work for every single person, because my boyfriend is a pretty awesome individual who appreciates my efforts even when I screw something up.)
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make here is that the outcome of whatever you're doing isn't always the most important thing. Sometimes, the efforts put in and the lesson learned along the way are far more important. You know, it's about the journey, not the destination, and all that jazz.
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