In the past I seemed to believe that I’d achieve perfection if I only tried hard enough, pushed hard enough, and worked hard enough. 

So that’s exactly what I did. I tried until I couldn’t try any more. I pushed until I was absolutely exhausted and had nothing left to give. And I worked until I was so burned out that I couldn’t imagine ever working again.

And still I wasn’t perfect. Still there was something to better or something to strive for or something to, well, perfect.

This battle within me to be perfect goes back all the way to childhood. It goes back to being praised for being the smart one and the pretty one and the best one. It goes back to being told that I was the only one in my family who would succeed. It goes back to wanting approval and love.

I know all of this. I’ve known all of this for a long, long time.

And I’ve moved through so much of this quest for perfection. Throughout my journey, I realized that I am already perfect – that we all are. I realized that everything is happening exactly how it’s supposed to. I trust that on a deep level. I really do.

But I still find that I am triggered into old habits from time to time. I still find that someone can say something about how I’m not doing something perfectly that can bring me right back into this spiral of shame – worrying that I’m not doing enough or that I’m not doing it right or that I’m not good enough at whatever it is that I’m meant to be doing better in their eyes.

So in these moments I realize something: I am human. 

I am human, but I am also divine. And the things that I think I should be doing, the things that I think I should be striving for, the things that I think I should be pushing to better in myself aren’t nearly as important and don’t matter nearly as much as my own well being and inner peace.

It’s all a façade, this whole perfection thing. We have created it in our minds, and we can’t strive for something that doesn’t exist. We’ll never reach it. It will never be attained. At least not in the way we think.

So when I find myself being triggered back into this old pattern, I remember this. And I remember that those days of striving to be perfect are in the past and need not make their way into the present. And I remember to wrap myself in a loving embrace and choose to move through life with love and grace.

If you also struggle with perfection, I would invite you to do the same.

We are already perfect. If it feels otherwise, please give yourself permission to span out and see yourself through the eyes of love – through the eyes of the universe – through the eyes of God. You’re already perfect. You’re already enough. 

And all of the rest that you do and achieve and bring into your life is simply icing on the cake. It’s an added bonus to an already perfect you.

And that’s the truth.

Hugs,

Jodi

Jodi Chapman is a bestselling author, an award-winning blogger, and a soulful community builder. She lives her life with love and faith in the driver’s seat, and she hopes to leave a trail of inspiration wherever she goes. She believes that we each have the ability to hear our soul’s whisper and create our best lives. She would love to connect with you!

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