Perfect Sucks

Trying to be perfect sucks even more

I need to let you know that sometimes it’s just going to be hard. There’s just no way around it. And I’m telling you this because I think it helps to know that there will be times when you’re going to fall down or fall short or fall apart. Sometimes (if your like me then more than just sometimes) you’re going to lose your keys or your wallet. And you’re going to get lost and you’re going to lose games and you’re going to lose races and you’ll lose friends and lose jobs and sometimes you’re going to lose your way.

You’re going to break bones and break promises and break up with people. You’re going to mess up, get mixed up and you’re going to muck it all up. You’re going to flunk and fail and fuck up. You’ll burn bridges to other people and build walls around yourself. You’re going to struggle.

But you’ll make it. You will. It won’t always be easy to get through it or over it or beyond it or past it. But you will. You’ll pick up the trail again and you’ll find you’re way back or you’ll find a better path to a new place. You’ll build new bridges and climb higher mountains and scale taller ladders. You’ll break losing streaks and put the pieces of broken relationships back together. You’ll learn that you can put yourself back together again too. And the latest version of you can be a better version of you.

You’ll still cry but it won’t always be sad or frustrated or angry tears. You’ll also cry with joy and relief and laughter. You’ll make new friends and you’ll rediscover old friends. You’ll leave finish lines behind and head towards new starting lines.

These moments and minutes and hours and days and weeks and months and years ahead of you will be so many things. They’ll be exciting and boring. They’ll seem to never end and they’ll fly by. They’ll be epic and fun and hard as hell and ridiculous and difficult and glorious and hilarious and treacherous.

What they won’t be is perfect. Because nothing is perfect. Including you. You’re not perfect. Don’t worry. Perfect is boring. Because perfect can’t change. Perfect can’t surprise you. Perfect won’t wake up one day and decide to try out for XC or the play or the science team or leave a bad relationship or quit a crap job for a better job. Perfect can’t slip up or make a mistake and in doing so perfect can’t learn from those mistakes or slip ups! Perfect can’t take a risk. Perfect can’t ask for help. Perfect can’t be vulnerable. Perfect can’t sacrifice anything for a friend or have a regret. Perfect doesn’t apologize. Perfect doesn’t seek forgiveness.

Perfect has nothing in common with you or me or them. Perfect can’t be brave. Perfect can’t get any better. Perfect sucks. And the only thing that sucks more than being perfect is trying to be perfect.

So, don’t waste your time doing something that sucks. Don’t try to be perfect. Just try  your very best to be fully you. If you can do that you still won’t be perfect. And you’ll still have to live a life that’s not always easy and definitely not ever perfect. But you’ll be you. And you and the life you live can be perfectly unique. And that’s a whole lot better than perfect ever will be.