Saturday’s live was on the topic of Progress Over Perfection.
I also did a fun reel the other day that spoke to this topic (check it out here).
As educators, I know that we can often get into the idea of wanting everything to be just so, and that can get overwhelming sometimes when we are always, always, ALWAYS striving for perfection.
But could we, for a moment, just realize that progress is wonderful too?
There’s always room to grow.
There are always things that we can do. Right?
And that doesn’t mean that what we’re doing right now isn’t enough.
So I want to invite you all to consider this idea of progress over perfection.
You can also have these conversations with your students and with your fellow educators.
I would like us all to realize that if we’re doing the best that we can, that’s good.
We don’t have to beat ourselves up with an expectation of being perfect because… the truth of the matter is…. “Perfect” doesn’t exist.
Whenever we are doing anything, we can know that if we’re trying to make progress, we are on a good path. And if we’re giving it our all for what we can in that moment – which can shift and change too, depending upon our current life situation – that’s good enough.
I’ve shared before that I’ve done yoga teacher training, and one of the things that my teachers used to say to us a lot is: you get to determine where you are on any given day.
They would encourage us with this idea – if you’re feeling like you’re at 60% today, can you give 100% of your 60%? Or determine how much of that 60% you can give?
I would invite you as well to give yourself that grace, as an educator:
To know where you are, know what’s happening in your life at that moment, and then set your expectations around that.
For example, I shared in a previous email about being a caregiver for my mother, and I’m learning and growing through this process, because I haven’t done this before.
So I have to give myself the grace of not spending a lot of time saying…
“Maybe I’m not doing a good job. Do I just keep messing up?”
Those types of expressions really aren’t helpful.
Instead, I can say: “I could have done or said that differently. Alright, well, I learned and now I can move on and do better next time with the progress I’ve made.”
And I know that I’m doing the best that I can and doing my best for her. And she knows that, too.
So the next time something doesn’t go quite “perfectly,” give yourself that grace and allow yourself to be exactly where you are.
If you start doing this a little every day, you’ll find yourself feeling a lot more ease, a lot more peace, and a lot more happiness in your daily life.
Wanting to do your best doesn’t mean that everything will always be perfect.
If you recognize that you’re doing your best in that given moment, then it’s all okay.
