Let’s talk perfection and progress bb. Have you ever looked at the seemingly perfect girl on Instagram and thought, “I want what she has”? Or what about the perfect couple? Perfect family? PERFECT LIFE? The seemingly perfect things we are surrounded around daily make us think perfect is what we need. 

I hate to break it to you, baby, but striving for perfection is a toxic trap. Why? Because perfect doesn’t exist. Instagram is more often than not a highlight reel, a heavily curated and edited highlight reel. So that girl, the couple, the family – they don’t have perfection. Perfection is not human. So more likely than not, they just aren’t showing you their full journey. 

Now a journey is something we do all have. It is literally apart of the human experience. And along with it, we all get to decide: Do we learn along the way? Do we continuously move forward? Do we allow ourselves to cherish this beautiful and complex thing called life?

Because what I just described to you is called PROGRESS. And this is what we need to be striving for. Progress over perfection is the mantra that will get you to a place so much better than perfection. Trust me. I have been right where you are striving for perfection too. And I am grateful I am not in that place anymore because, through progress, I have gained so much more. 

WHY progress over perfection.

When we are striving for perfection, we are striving for something that is not obtainable. So we find ourselves in what I like to call the “not good enough” cycle. We grasp onto what we think will bring us happiness and fulfillment only to find it doesn’t. So we try the next thing on the list. This fails us every time because, again: perfection doesn’t exist. 

We do this over and over until we feel so defeated we find ourselves paralyzed. Paralyzed in the perfection trap! It’s our brain’s way of protecting our hearts. We shut down once we realize that something we so deeply want is not getting any closer. And then, once we are shut down, we stop working towards anything at all. 

Let me say it louder for the perfectionists in the back: PERFECTION IS NOT POSSIBLE. 

This is why progress is a far better target to aim for. The definition of progress is “forward or onward movement toward a destination.” So that perfect girl you want to be, the relationship you wish you had, the family that looks so darn perfect – make progress to have, be like, or obtain the parts of that you admire. 

With progress comes possibility. As long as you are moving forward towards a goal, you are finding success. Hello! Did I just say there is little or no way to fail in progress? YES, I DID. And that should also tell you that becoming paralyzed in the perfectionist trap is not possible here. 

And now I get to tell you all the juicy details on HOW.

First and maybe most importantly, stop comparing yourself…and I say that humbly as I am all too familiar with getting caught in the comparison trap but NO ONE IS YOU AND THAT IS YOUR POWER! Comparison is simply a distraction from your own progress! You are made of magic, and you have more uniqueness in you than you will ever comprehend. 

Whatever your power, your gifts, and what makes you… you deserve to shine. And that person you are comparing yourself to… maybe they are just a little further in that progress. 

Take what you admire in them and apply it as inspiration INSTEAD of comparison. That serves both you AND them. That puts more good juju into the world, and don’t forget – like attracts like. By making this small mindset shift, you are already going to feel the progress start to set in. 

Emma Norris of A Girl In Progress has a book called Progress Over Perfection which I really enjoyed and highly recommend. She offers a lot of great tips in her book and it’s super cute to keep on display (I’m a sucker for a cute book over 😂)! Emma is actually going to be on The Yoga Inspired Life Podcast in February which I am SO EXCITED ABOUT, we’re doing a pod switch so I’ll be on her podcast as well! If you’re not already subscribed to my podcast be sure to do that so you don’t miss my episode with Emma on Progress Over Perfection when it is released!

Okay, back to actionable tips: another big one, which is so important to manage your expectations. This is easier said than done but luckily for you, I have a few pointers to help you start!

• Make small actionable goals: Let’s use the relationship here as an example. Maybe the perfect relationship is a little too extreme to work towards because you are still single but going on a date is doable! Perhaps a Zoom date or FaceTime date because of Covid, but it still puts you one step closer to what you want. This brings me to my next tip…
  
• Practicing patience: goals don’t happen overnight, my love! They take time, and to embrace time, we have to practice patience. We have to enjoy the process and find contentment with where we are at in the in-between. AKA the space between where we are at and where we want to be. 
  
• Create mindful habits: I don’t care what your goal is: the girl you want to be, the relationship, the family, the body, the yoga pose, the business… the list goes on forever! But what I do care about is that you are manifesting it every day from a place of love and appreciation for where you’re at! Cultivating mindful habits and tapping into gratitude regularly will help move you in the right direction. Don’t forget that direction IS progress, forward movement IS progress. 
  

When you catch yourself striving for perfection, I want you to take moment, breathe and affirm: “I am perfectly imperfect. There is joy in the process. I am right where I need to be. Progress over perfection.” 

Take a deep breath, and repeat it. 

You already have everything you need to be everything you want. And you more than enough, today right now, just as you are. Just remember the magic formula, small goals + time + gratitude + mindful habits = progress.

And progress over perfection, my dear, every single time.