Many times, as parents, we strive to be perfect. What does perfect even look like, anyway? We are all unique individuals who are perfectly imperfect. When we are in a place of acceptance of who we are and where we are in life, imagine the impact that has on our children?
In the past, many years ago, perfection was my goal. That is a hard goal to reach for all of us because there is no such thing. But the stress that we put on ourselves trying so hard can be counterproductive.
I have an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto. I am sharing this with you because I am a strong believer that this came about due to stress. This is stress that I put on myself daily. For years when my children were young, I expected so much of myself. I expected my home to be clean and orderly – this includes my children too. I worked full-time and came home, often to chaos. But the chaos was inside as well from the unrealistic expectations.
What if I had come home and engaged with my children, in a state of presence? What if I had sat down with them at eye level immediately upon re-entry into the house and connected? This would have made an enormous difference in my family. My parenting was never measured by the cleanliness of my home. Does anyone even have the right to measure our parenting?
Although I would not change a thing from my past, it is all an awakening. Our life teaches us so much if we are open to see the lessons. Perfectionism is a burden that weighs us down like an enormous backpack of rocks. It is impossible to strive for this in life. If you feel like you create your own perfectionistic stress, what would it be like for you to let go of the need for doing all of these things and step into the being in your life?
