Growing Pains

Life is full of change. Hopefully always change for the better, but change nonetheless. As I grow as a woman, as a wife, as a parent, I realize that there are many things I may have done in the past that now, in hindsight, I think perhaps I could have done better or should have done differently. But, that’s the past right? And knowing this, I realize it can only go up from here.

This blog is growing.  *insert obligatory reminder to subscribe today*

That is exciting to me! I’ve been working hard, trying to be more consistent, and attempting to implement the many, many, many things that ‘good bloggers’ do to make their site (and their content) interesting and appealing.

It’s a lot of work!

Between juggling the kids, managing the household, creating new content, vlogging, writing for gigs, trying to stay on top of this new health regimen and other tasks, remaining consistent has been a challenge. But I’m up for it, for sure!

Past Mistakes

I asked my husband if I should go back to some older posts, now that I know better, and fix them. Make them more SEO-friendly, possibly improve the pictures, the links, change the sentence structure and formatting. Ya know, because when you know better, you should do better, right? So, now knowing better, I should go back and fix the errors, shouldn’t I?

He said no. Leave it. Move forward.

Initially I balked and tried to please my case. It fell on deaf ears.

I’m glad it did.

Why?

Well, because, frankly, I like that my posts have evolved. I like to see that change over time. I like to see (and show) improvement. So many times we see perfection. We see ‘finished products’ rather than works in progress. For some, the quest for perfection is so strong it causes people to feel inadequate, and so they quit before they even truly start. They look at someone’s successful end result and mistakenly base their own well-intentioned beginnings on what only a lifetime of failures and growth can produce.

I know I’ve done it. Have you?

Progress over Perfection

Like my parenting journey, like my wifehood journey, like my life’s journey, my blog is a reflection of progress over time. It wasn’t perfect in the beginning and it isn’t perfect now. Perhaps it never will be perfect and I am okay with that. All I can do is offer my very best effort while seeking to grow and improve.

I would rather have progress over perfection. I would rather model evolution than some skillfully manipulated, canned version of something pawned off as perfect. Teaching is great, but I also long to learn.

So, shout-out to my past posts that might be considered ‘sub-par’ to some. And hey, while I’m at it, shout-out to these current posts that are likely still not perfect in the eyes of a master (or a hater!).

I am no longer comparing. I am no longer competing.

Why?

Because all of that takes the joy out of the craft. I create because it brings me joy; because I feel like I am my best self when I am producing meaningfully and sharing unashamedly. It makes me feel amazing. I want to feel amazing as often as I can!

Who doesn’t?

Fly Free

All that being said, if you take anything away from the (somewhat meandering) stream of thought that I’m sharing with you, take this: stop getting in your own way if you can help it. Stop trying to be perfect. Stop trying to be ‘the best’. Just be you, your own perfectly imperfect self.

Create freely, dream bigly and inspire regularly. You never know who is watching you and silently cheering you on in the wings.

You owe it to yourself to grow. Celebrate the milestones and continue to climb higher and higher. Don’t apologize, don’t over-correct. Leave the joy-sucking, life-snuffing notion of perfection behind in the dust. The world of joyful creativity and continual improvement is waiting at your feet. Dive into the pool and swim for your life because like I said, it can only go up from here!

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