I’m reading this everywhere at the moment.  And it’s making me smile.  A lot.  It’s like getting permission to just be a human being instead of a machine.  I think something goes wrong when we are growing up – we are taught the best come first at the swimming carnival, you need to get all A+s, the popular kids are popular because something about them is the best, your parents want you to be the best, you are constantly compared to every other kid.  And mostly the labels are used in school – top performing student, below average – rarely is the kindest kid or most creative kid put on a pedestal.

But these measurements don’t really work in real life do they?  No one wins every single race.  No student gets 100% in every exam they ever do.  So why do we keep striving to be the best.  I get the concept of being the best we can be – that seems a good and healthy sentiment and goal.  But is it?  How do we know what our best is?  How can we ever live up to it?  How do we measure it?  Is it about comparing ourselves to others?  Or is it about comparing ourselves to who we were yesterday or last year – and improvement seems a very good objective.  But does aiming to be our best mean we don’t ever feel we’ve reached our goal?

I firmly believe we are all great at something.  There is a reason to us being here.  And that it should be all that matters.  Being good at being us, accepting us, and loving ourselves fiercely seems essential.  Trying to work out who I am, why I am here, working hard vs rest, there are so many conflicting messages about living our best / perfect lives that it’s like no matter which choice we make, we fail.  And is it just about marketing making us feel we don’t measure up and need to buy things/ buy more to be more?  Or is it just all of us comparing each other and what other people seem to have?  Fear of missing out?  Fear of not being good enough.  But what if you were really enough, just as you are.  Not when you save money, lose weight, fall in love – but EXACTLY how you are now.  Perfectly imperfect!

Love and sex seem like some of the most wonderful experiences we can have as humans.  And are they perfect?  Oh my lordy, no – both are a messy crazy business.  But would we give them up?  No way!  Why can’t we just love each other and ourselves for all the things that are so good about us?

How do we learn to fully let go of what other people think and do what makes us feel good?  Is anything more important than feeling good, feeling happy, feeling hopeful, feeling joy and wanting other people to feel those things as well?  And then learning how to get those things for ourselves and those that we love.

Would you want to hang out with a perfect person anyway?  How would that make you feel?  Like you don’t measure up?  That you could be more?  And who says they are perfect anyway?  Where is the definition and measure?

So let me continue on my search for people who are excited about the future, doing what they can to feel good, focussing on the positive and then have amazing conversations with them.  Set goals, support each other, encourage each other, grow together and very importantly, celebrate all the successes we have along the way.  Big love for the world.  For ourselves and for each other.

Let’s stop being disappointed in ourselves and get excited by all the wonderfulness that we are.  I know it’s in there for you.  Let yourself see it and appreciate it and make you smile.

Be kind to yourself.

Wxx