The Pursuit of Perfection

The fall is absolutely flying by! Maybe it's the days starting to get shorter, but whatever it was, I've spent a lot of time feeling like I'm doing sprints on a hamster wheel. And when I start feeling like this, I wonder why we are always pushing ourselves to do it all, and have it all, in hopes that we might someday capture this notion of a perfect life. Whether we know it or not, pursuing perfection is something we all seem to do. You know, the goals that we all have- a good job, a happy marriage,  a healthy lifestyle, a plentiful savings account, and on and on. I want life to be good, no, better than good. I want life to be perfect. Or do I?

Let's start with the basics- a good job. It's where we spend most of our time so we should probably feel pretty happy there right? Well, I'm a few months in to my new job, and so far, so good. In fact, when one of my friend's was asking me how things were going, he laughed and said, "Wow, that's the first time I've heard you say positive things about your job since we've been friends!" Yikes! Well, I guess the change was a long time coming. Yet I still catch myself wondering, is this what I'm supposed to be doing? Do I have a better work-life balance? Do I have a supervisor who sees my potential and encourages my growth? Am I getting paid what I'm worth? Is my work effecting others in a positive way? Because if I don't have definitive answers to these questions, I manage to talk myself into searching for yet another new job. This makes me tired.

Okay, what about your health? Well, thanks to a pedometer challenge at work, I've become quite obsessed with how many steps I get in a day. I love how this has made me much more aware of the time I spend being active. It has also made me aware that I need more comfortable work shoes. At any rate, monitoring steps is good, but what experts also tell you to monitor is your blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar levels, heart rate, water intake, calorie intake, stress levels, and sleep cycles. That's a lot. That also explains why so many people have a Fitbit. It seems like a healthy lifestyle should be easy to maintain, yet there is constantly something that makes you fall off the horse...like french fries. And cupcakes. Why must these taste so good? And why must the couch be so comfortable? Ugh. This makes me feel defeated.

If you still don't think there's enough out there to perfect, let's add in some relationships. You've got to have your family time, your husband time, your girl time, your time with other couples, your time with his friends, your time with your friends, and then with whatever there is left, you get time for yourself. And don't forget that everyone else is also doing this at the same time and only by some miracle beyond time and space, the stars align and you actually get together for an evening. And when this happens, it's so much fun! You laugh, you tell stories, you get the scoop on each other's dirt, and you remember why you are so grateful to have these amazing people in your life. It makes me wish that it could happen more often, which in turn, makes me a little bit sad.

Tired, defeated and sad...sounds a little less than perfect, right? But while I have these less than stellar feelings, I just have to remind myself that it's all about a change in perspective. So, going back to my original statement, should we all be searching for that perfect life? I think maybe not, because quite frankly, I'm not sure it exists. I'd rather be fabulous and happy, ready for the hanging curve that I can hit out of the park, than constantly searching for the best and feeling defeated when I miss. My wisdom says take a walk, ask for the raise, hug your husband, always eat the cupcake, and you'll be just fine.