Hey there, it’s Christie Sears Thompson.
I wanted to write today to share something valuable I've learned this past year.
Some time ago I got tired of trying so hard to be perfect, but I kept doing it anyway.
Trying to be perfect gets tiring after a while. It happens to the best of us. But it’s hard to let it go.
Then, I had the opportunity during 2020 to let go of a lot of stuff. Like A LOT.
I had to prioritize every day a little differently than I imagined and be ok with daily imperfections.
After that, I felt way less burdened and gained so much clarity on how to let go of perfectionism and just enjoy my family and our home a little more.
I realized that there’s this ONE thing that made such a big difference for me when it comes to letting go of perfectionism...
I was subconsciously doing it but it suddenly dawned on me how without this ONE thing, everything just falls apart...
Yes, it is to accept and love yourself as you are!
I was struggling with a vision of what was impossible during a very stressful time in my life. I had been stuck at home with a baby and a first grader, working out of my home office, preparing meals, guiding remote learning, and trying to build a second business.
Depression hit me HARD.
Everything I wished I could do well had to be done in bite-sized pieces throughout the day and did not turn out as well as I had envisioned. But if I was being honest with myself, it was almost always good enough.
When I gave myself permission to accept that I was doing the best I could with the circumstances I had, I grew to appreciate all that I was actually doing. My kids were loved and taken care of, we always had food to eat, my practice was still running (though I wasn’t in my office), and my husband and I still had each other at the end of the day.
Bottom line: the important things were tended to.
When I kept feeding the idea that what I was doing wasn’t enough, I started to feel bad about myself, my abilities, and my overall worth as a mom and spouse. It was an awful place to be and I felt that drag of perfectionism slowly eating away at all the positive things I was doing.
Here are some of the ways you can give yourself permission to accept and love yourself more completely:
● Don’t feed the lie that you aren’t good enough!
● Be sure to give yourself love and words of kindness.
● Set aside time for self-care.
So how about you? Have you mastered self-acceptance? If you need a little more guidance, you can always check out my online course here.
With gratitude,
Christie Sears Thompson
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
The Partnerhood (www.thepartnerhood.com)
Trade Winds Therapy & Relationship Coaching (www.tradewindstherapy.com)