We Don’t Have To Be Perfect Today

Life is really long.

Nobody is asking you to be perfect today. Or tomorrow. Or next year. Or in fifty years. There is no deadline to progression. If we’d figured it all out by now, what would be the point of going forward?

There are periods of transition when it feels like all you’ll ever do is wait. And there are other times when it feels like everything is going so smoothly and so quickly and wouldn’t it be great if life would just slow down? I spent my entire sophomore year of college in my basement bedroom crying because life ends at 18, right? But it doesn’t. Sometimes you’ve just gotta pick yourself up off the floor and start over.

It’s easy to get frustrated and think about everything left on our fantasy to do lists, to feel inferior when judging ourselves against our own standards. Instead, why don’t you pat yourself on the back and think about how far you’ve come? I often feel like I’m not doing anything worthwhile. I haven’t moved any mountains or made much money. But I don’t have to cure cancer by close of business tomorrow to be successful. The important thing is that I have a job. I moved away from my little college town, I bought a car, and I did it all on my own. The progression? That’s the victory.

We can’t beat ourselves up because we’re not writing enough or running enough or because our paychecks are too low or we’re not where we thought we’d be. What matters is the fact that we wrote more today than we did yesterday, or we’re a little bit smarter than we were five years ago. We have years to become who we want to be. Don’t compare your middle with someone’s beginning or end.

You probably haven’t seen your favorite movie yet, and I am sure there are dozens more unread books that will change your life and shape your worldview. There are new bands to discover, new recipes to try, unfamiliar cities to explore. Life is really long, and every day can be filled with new adventures and challenges if we let it.

So cheer up, darlings. Find happiness in the journey, in the shaping of our lives.