How to Stop Chasing Perfection and Start Living Your Best Life
"Once I graduate and get a good paying job, then I can start living my best life".
"Once I lose weight and look a certain way, then I can start living my best life".
"Once I clear my acne and have perfect, glowing skin, then I can start living my best life".
Sound familiar?
I wanted to take a break this week from my typical blog posts about sobriety and talk about something else that has dominated my mind for most of my life...perfectionism. I have been chasing "perfection" for as long as I can remember, whether it be having the perfect body, the perfect grades, or the perfect diet. I've put tremendous pressure on myself throughout my entire life to be "perfect", and it's caused me a lot of unnecessary stress (like, hair falling out, skin breaking out type of stress).
The Truth About Perfectionism
We all have an idea of what we envision our best life to be like, the person we want to become, and the things we hope to accomplish. But far too often, we allow ourselves to believe that there are these imaginary roadblocks keeping us from living out our desires. We think that we need to be "perfect" in order to truly be happy and live out our ideal lives.
Well, guess what?! IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY! You can choose to start living your best life NOW. You don’t have to wait until you look a certain way, until you’ve graduated, until you’re making money, etc. The truth of the matter is, we will always be chasing something that we don't have...and I've come to realize that's okay! This is what keeps life interesting! You can enjoy and live out your best life even while striving for even more.
Envision Your Best Self
Before you can start living your best life, you need to envision exactly what your best life would look like and who your "best self" would be. And lucky for you, that's exactly what the journal prompt below will help you do!
After completing this journal prompt, you will have a clear idea of all of the things you envision your best self doing when you are living your best life. By bringing these things to the forefront of our minds through journaling, we can start applying them into our everyday lives. We do not have to wait until our lives are seemingly "perfect".
Setting Up Your Journal
This journal prompt came from one of my favorite podcasts, Manifest with Tori DeSimone (I'll link the episode here). I've tweaked this journal prompt a little bit, just like I did in my last blog post on journaling.
To begin this journal prompt, start by writing, "When I practice and envision my best self..." at the top of the page.
Next, you'll break up your page into the different categories listed below. You may want to wait until you finish the prompt for one category before moving onto the next, just to make sure you have enough space for everything. Go into detail about these different categories. Write down everything that you picture your best self doing when you are living your best life. Literally everything. The most important thing here is to be REALLY SPECIFIC!
Journal Prompt: "When I envision and practice my best self..."
- I am eating...
- What foods make you feel good? What foods leave you feeling satisfied? What foods nourish your body? Are you eating plant-based?
- I am drinking...
- What drinks make you feel good? What drinks energize you?
- I am doing...
- What things do you imagine your self doing?
- Are you working out? How often? What workouts are you doing?
- Are you finishing school? Are you starting your career?
- Are you following any morning or night routines? What are they? Be specific!
- I am reading...
- Books? Magazines? What type of books? How often are you reading?
- I am listening to...
- Are you listening to music? What type of music? Are you listening to podcasts? Are you listening to your body? Yourself? The universe?
- I am practicing...
- Meditation? Self-love? A healthy relationship with food? Keeping promises to yourself?
- I am eliminating...
- What things are not adding to your life? What things are draining you? Who or what in your life is giving off negative energy? See this blog post if you need help identifying the things in your life that aren't making you happy.
- I am surrounded by...
- Who or what do you feel happiest around? Are you surrounding yourself with positive people? Like-minded people?
How Will You Accomplish These Things?
Finally, go back through your list and write down how you are going to accomplish EACH THING. For example, how are you going to make sure you're eating foods that make you feel good? Are you going to make a weekly list of your meals and groceries? Or how are you going to make sure you are reading more? Will you read every night before bed? Remember, get specific. The nitty-gritty details are important so that you can begin to apply these thoughts into your everyday life.
Start Living Your Best Life!
By writing all of these actions down, you will see what exactly you envision your best self and your best life to be like. Once you have this idea in your head, there is no reason why you cannot start acting on these goals today. If your “best self” is eating smoothie bowls every morning, then fucking start making smoothie bowls every morning.
Remember, it's okay if you aren't perfect. It's okay if you do not complete all of these actions each and every day. The point of this journal prompt is to prove that your best self is more attainable than you may think. To sum it up, do the things that make you feel good and eliminate the things that don't. By taking these baby steps, your best life will become your reality before you know it.