Present Over Perfect

So I started reading “Present Over Perfect” by Shauna Niequist and I have yet to finish it so if that tells you anything, I’m really not that into it. 

I’m about one hundred pages in and so far I feel like I’ve learned nothing as to how to simplify my life. My takeaways thus far are: spend a lot of time at your beach house, vacation in Hawaii, and learn to say no to flashy job opportunities and speaking events. Ok, great, for a millionaire. But what about us regular humans with no flashy job, various vacation homes and family vacations? Honestly, I think her message reaches a very low percentage of the population.

So I’m doing a little exercise these days and trying to find what it means to me to be “Present Over Perfect.”

For me, being present means putting away the distractions a.k.a. my phone, when I’m with my daughter. I am SO guilty of this. Because frankly, I am sick of listening to Maroon 5’s “Girls Like You” for the 4567th time or the oh-so-dreaded BABY SHARK. But you know what? Scrolling can wait. Texting can wait. She’s looking at me and I’m looking at my phone and what’s that saying to her? That my phone is much more important than time WITH her. It doesn’t matter what we are doing, what we are watching, just being present in those moments with her is telling her that she matters to me. 

Another moment that I think of is spending time with my husband, family and friends. It’s the same concept. In these days of social media we want to capture these moments in a bottle and save them for later. And believe me, I love having these photos and videos years down the road, I do. But there are also moments that I like to keep to myself. Between me and the person I’m sharing it with. 

When was the last time you had a secret? Where you didn’t share with the world what you were doing, thinking and feeling? And how did it feel? For me, it feels liberating. I feel like I can just relax and not worry about capturing “moments.” I can live them. I can enjoy them and enjoy whoever I’m sharing it with. 

I realize it’s kind of an ironic thing to say when you’re starting your own blog and sharing your thoughts with the world. Blogs are pretty much created by oversharing. If you stick around, you will find that I tend to contradict myself a lot and try to weigh each side of every argument. I’ll blame it on being a Libra. 

Anywho. I challenge you to put away the distractions. Go ahead and stop reading this to hang out with your kids or your friend or spouse or just go do something for yourself that makes you smile. Like maybe grab that third cup of coffee. It’s ok, I won’t tell anyone.