Done is better than perfect.
I’ve been reading Sheryl
Sandberg’s Lean In for the past week
(well, more like binge reading) and have had most of my fears of professional
life and home life squashed in the process.
Rarely do I have my life ‘together’.
Laundry is somewhere, I usually can keep a day or two ahead on meals and
I still swear I’m going to go to bed earlier and not watch the next episode of Arrested Development. I will also weigh 130 lbs., complete a triathlon, and make six figures (along with hitting the Power Ball).
I find frustration in the mommy bloggers who
spend their lives doting on their children, cultivating a perfect live via
instagram, Facebook, or other social media avenues. Throw in a few sponsorships and they’re
pretty good to go with a little side income.
Maybe I’m just tired of all my
friends going from posting happy hour photos to “potty training” status
updates. I’m fortunate to be a child of
the ‘80s and my mother not sharing every detail of my Sesame Street life.
What struck me about Sandberg’s
book was that she was quite candid and insecure. She had the same insecurities a lot of women
(well, myself) internally repeat.
I was
glad to know that I’m not the only person that feels like a fraud waiting to be
figured out.
Sandberg went there. I’m able to juggle
managing several blogs for professional organizations and full-time work yet felt
inept to apply to grad school because “I’ll be figured out.” Now, with my first course starting in August, admissions will figure me out that I might not be cut out for the IT field, maybe my work won't reimburse me for classes, maybe I create irrational fears out of insecurities and anxiety over change?
Perhaps, as women, we’re innately
wired from nature or nurture to step back and let a man handle the ‘important
stuff’ while we worry about a Saturday spent on laundry or having dinner
ready. Maybe not putting a
well-manicured life out there on social media isn't the solution but it might be
what’s real.
No one really wants to talk about
eating spinach dip at happy hour or how they half-assed a workout just because
they needed a valid reason to justify an $80 per month club.
Done is better than perfect. Eating a salad minus the croutons is better
than eating a Big Mac. Hell, maybe you
ate a Big Mac, I bet your doctor has probably had a few and snuck a
cigarette.
Progress is better than
perfection and the expectation with a health and nutrition blog should be about
promoting that. Not making you feel
inadequate. Social media can do enough for that. You might be content about your place in life but see another person's post about running a marathon, passing their medical boards, and having a hot significant other when you're just excited to wake up without a hangover Sunday morning.
After 500 posts this is what I've realized on a
substantially long journey from an internship in Washington D.C. to temp jobs
and my past two 'real' jobs. You've earned
everything. Everyone is on their own journey, don't sell yourself short. Done is better than perfect.