Progress Over Perfection
Confession: sometimes I can get so focused on being international, that I find myself slipping back to my old life of perfectionism and doing all the things. If I’m not careful, I can turn my list of intentions into a list of strict to-do’s that leave me feeling defeated if I miss the mark.
I began to notice this as I’ve been more anxious lately. At first, I blamed it on the election, the pandemic, and just the overall heaviness and exhaustion of this year. But then I was recently reminded that I was simply trying to do too much, and I was on the verge of burnout.
Burnout is real. It’s one of the reasons I found simplicity and intentionality so refreshing.
So this post serves as a reminder to myself and, hopefully, encouragement for you if you’re new to this lifestyle. Here are some things I want you to remember as you start your journey toward an intentional and simple life.
Progress over perfection
Please know that I am saying this with a WHOLE lotta grace, but let’s just get this out of the way: perfection is not only unattainable, it’s exhausting. We are never going to be perfect in being intentional. We are going to mess up. And that’s okay. The goal is progress - to keep going and to dust ourself off and try again when we don’t get it right.
This is so freeing for me, and helps me to progress further and faster (even though that’s also not the goal). Here’s what I mean: my old would beat myself and be like “what the point?” if I made a mistake. Now, I acknowledge I messed up, and then pick back up where I left off.
Here’s an example: the boys and I recently caught a cold, which caused us to miss a week’s worth of homeschool because I honestly forgot about it. I was thiiiiiis close to beating myself up (okay, I did beat myself for a second) and saying “forget it!” But instead, I just went on to the next day’s lesson in the curriculum… a week later.
Don’t try to do it all
This leads me to my next point. Simply don’t try to do all the things - especially all at once. Choose what is priority (hint: everything isn’t a priority), and then focus on that. And also know what is priority can change, depending on the season.
Going back to me talking about almost burning out, I am currently practicing what I’m preaching: I’m letting some things go for now. I am a wife and work-at-home-homeschooling-mom of an infant and toddler, with 2 businesses (and a third maybe on the way). There’s a lot that is screaming for my attention. So in this moment, when I am more vulnerable to anxiety, I’ve decided to focus on what matters most - my people and the things that currently pay my bills!
As much as I love an immaculately clean home, I’ll settle for a tidy and well-lived in home during this season. As much as I want to continue to be show up on social media to grow my business, it is totally okay for me to take a step back and schedule my posts. It’s okay if some nights we have Chipotle for dinner because I am just plain exhausted.
do what is best for You and your family
Here’s something to remember: what’s important to one mama may not be important to you and vice versa. Adventure might be at the top of her list to be intentional about, while community might be at the top of yours. Even if you both have some of the same things on your list, how you both go about it will also very different. Don’t try to copy her - do what works for your family!
Be led by the Lord. Search the Scriptures and follow the Holy Spirit’s leading. He knows what’s best for your specific family.
Pace yourself
It’s okay to go slow - in fact, it’s wise to pace yourself so you don’t burn out. You don’t want to quit before you even see progress, right?
Pick one area to work on, and then break that down into further smaller chunks of things to work on.
For example, if your intention is for your family to eat healthier, it would be easier to start with swapping one meal at a time instead of trying to replace your whole kitchen.
I hope the above reminds you that this journey is a marathon and not a race. Progress over perfection.