I am not perfect, and that is perfectly okay.

My mother often jokes about being like Mary Poppins, “practically perfect in every way.” She might be (love you, Mom). I, however, am not.

Unfortunately, I find myself beating my head against the wall of perfection time after time. I run a business, manage the household, take care of the pets, manage relationships with family members, and plan for the future. As women, we often put a lot of pressure on ourselves to be that perfect wife, perfect mother, perfect employee. And what results is not a feeling of accomplishment, but often a sense of failure because we aren’t perfect.

One definition of perfect in the American Heritage Dictionary is “Being without defect or blemish: a perfect specimen.” Well, guess what, world? I am not perfect.

We Are All a Work in Progress

Goodness knows that I am lacking in many things and please don’t count my blemishes! We are all a work in progress. A beautiful mess of inconsistencies, baggage and imperfections. And guess what? That is perfectly okay!

In my struggles to be a better person, I have worked with my own coach. One thing that was incredibly powerful for me was being asked if I expected the same levels of perfection from others in my life. When I really examined it, I realized that I absolutely do not. The things that make us imperfect are often what make us interesting or loveable. How boring life would be if we were all perfect. And how irritating would we be to others!

I simply expect those that I love to be real, authentic, honest and ultimately human. I admire those who are flawed with a beautiful grace and a constant desire to improve. Why are we so hard on ourselves?

Start Noticing Your Strengths

There is a new movement to stop focusing on our weaknesses and start noticing our strengths. I recently heard someone say that we should strengthen our strengths and delegate the things that we are weak in. We all have weaknesses that we can improve on, but what if you really looked at the things that you are strong in, work on making those stronger, and ask for help in your weak areas?

Can you imagine the burden that would be lifted if you could let go of that constant sense of beating yourself up? The world will do that for you: You don’t need to add to the cause.

As you go into your day, take a moment to really think about what you are good at and embrace it. Then take a moment to glance at your imperfections and love them and yourself the way you love the imperfections in your child, your spouse or your best friend.

What are your strengths and weaknesses? What imperfections do you celebrate in yourself? Where do you see a strength you can strengthen? A weakness you can delegate? Please join the conversation.