Embracing Imperfections during times of Uncertainty and Fear
Sharing my experience and keeping it honest and authentic.
This is my first blog post on medium and I feel have chosen the right time to write about the Storm that we all are stuck in together #coronavirus. There are a lot of Inspiring and informative posts on medium about — how to stay positive and do our part of practicing social distancing and self-isolation. It can be a bit overwhelming with news and social media posts, staying positive all the time is hard as we all are human and vulnerable. We can acknowledge and focus on things we can control and take care of our selves and spend time learning new skills or experiment with try something new which we always wanted to do but couldn’t. Taking care of physical and mental health is crucial than ever as this situation is affecting all of us at varying degrees — pain, loss, suffering, anxiety, fear, and discomfort. I am one of the blessed ones, where my life is not turned upside down compared to most and for which I am eternally grateful. I am an Empath and it bothers me when I am hearing stories about others. Though we are uncertain about when we can see light in these dark times, we should believe, pray and hope that this too shall pass and we all emerge stronger and braver.
I being, a planner and perfectionist constantly feel have done this better ? or I am not good enough? If you are someone like me then I hope this post helps in understanding what #perfectly imperfect life is all about.
This Year began with a lot of hope and planning for a new decade, new moments and experiences to look forward too, and aspirations to strive for. I wanted to try bullet journaling this year and with excitement, I created my monthly spreads and wrote down my goals, places to visit, books to read, bucket list and before you know it, The outbreak of coronavirus hit me with surprise, confusion, panic, fear, uncertainty, and impermanence in Jan and Feb.
Perfectionism is not self-improvement — I read this line and it stuck with me ever since. I always felt striving towards being perfect is the key to success and I never gave myself any credit nor celebrated any small wins that came my way and turns out Being Imperfect is what makes us Human and motivates us to a better version of ourselves.
When things did not go as planned, I felt like my life, career, goals will be meaningless and that I will not lead a perfect life that I designed this year. I started going down the spiral with few sleepless nights, rants, negative thoughts and felt lost, confused and started looking for ways I could perhaps change or stop this out of control situation and then I guess as a sign from the universe , I came across this phrase on Instagram #perfectly Imperfect and we should celebrate our imperfections and let go of things that are not in our control and that got me curious to find out it more.
Brene Brown, The author of The Gifts of Imperfection, talks about wholehearted living and embracing the 3c’s — Courage, Compassion, and Connection. how to be vulnerable and accept ourselves with kindness, love, and grace. Before picking up the book, I honestly felt it would probably be another Self-help book that will finally tell me that this would the magic solution to lead a successful and meaningful life, but I am very happy to admit that I am wrong.
This book is merely a guide as to how we can customize and design our own lives and live without fear of judgment and shame. It takes about how Vulnerability is strength, not weakness( which was my perception all along). I always co-related happiness with perfection and told myself I will be happy when I lose those extra ten pounds and fit into this trendy dress and that’s when I will look perfect and happy.
Wholehearted living is about engaging our lives from a place of worthiness.It means cultivating the courage,compassion, and connection to wake up in the morning and think,no matter what gets done and how much is undone,I am enough.Its about going to bed and thinking ,Yes I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid,but that doesn’t change the truth that I am also brave, and worthy of love and belonging — Brene Brown.
Over the past month, I started digging deep about myself and started journaling and calling it #chronicles of my self-discovery. I felt this the best time I can utilize to embrace my vulnerabilities. I cannot say that it suddenly changed the way I think but its definitely help me give a perspective about my thoughts, fears, and emotions and helping me embrace the fact that It is okay to feel that way. This is a journey and honestly, I barely scratched the surface. I want to DIG deep into my fears, self-doubt and eventually edge towards self-acceptance.
I want to start slow and think about one thing at a time live one day at a time. Take 15–20 mins in a day to journal and self-reflect. Remind my self — “There is no perfect life and I am worthy, happy, enough and celebrate being imperfectly perfect”.
I know everyone’s situation is different, some may have to work from home, take care of kids, elderly and we feel it is not possible to focus on ourselves and that’s why it is so important to address our fears during these uncertain times. How busy your life may seem, take five minutes in your day to talk, journal, maintain a digital diary and ask yourselves how you feel and our fears are our strengths and when this pandemic ends, and we see the bright side what is that we will be most grateful for?
Over the next few days lets us join together and acknowledge our fears, uncertainties, our imperfections and share it with loved ones or write about it. I believe that by tuning in with ourselves we will become more kind, present and compassionate when we surpass this deadly storm.
If you like to explore more on this topic, read or listen to The gifts of Imperfections by Brene Brown. The power of vulnerability is one of the most viewed TED talks and I will share the link below.
Finally, I want to ask you all How often do you get the thought that I am not good enough? and how do you overcome this thought? Reflect on this and comment below. I want to write more stories about #self and create a community of celebrating oneness and life. If you like this story , please share with your friends and family.
