Today’s Wisdom Card from Louise L. Hay says “If I wait until I become perfect before I love myself, I will waste my whole life. I am already perfect right here and right now.” and “I am perfect exactly as I am.”

I can’t tell you how many emo-fueled nights I listened to Simple Plan’s Perfect. We’re so hard on ourselves when we don’t have to be. We hold ourselves to these, often times impossible standards, and for what? I’m one of those people that often times has the attitude ‘if I’m not going to do it well then I’m not going to do it at all’. I don’t think it’s so much perfectionism as the fear of failing. Maybe those are one in the same, I don’t know. Take art, for example, I’m not very good at it and that belief stops me from creating. It stops me from even trying. Sometimes you just have to accept that you aren’t perfect and do it anyway. 

A few weeks ago I was experimenting with markers and did this art project where I took a piece of paper and did outlines of my hand in all sorts of different colors. However, I didn’t want the lines to overlap. By the end of the project I had goofed up and overlapped in a few places and while it was frustrating at first I didn’t stop and the end result was actually pretty cool looking!

You don’t have to be perfect.

If I had to be perfect at everything I did then I probably wouldn’t be doing much of anything. I’m imperfect at everything and that’s okay. I’m perfect exactly as I am despite, and because, of my faults. In this moment I love myself completely, imperfections and all.

Is there something you are afraid to try because you are afraid you won’t be perfect? Why not try to do it anyway and see what happens! Don’t let anything stop you from loving who you are right now. You’re the only one you gotta impress, you don’t have to meet anyone’s expectations but your own. Be kind to yourself, be gentle with yourself, and recognize that you are a perfect, amazing, being.