There’s this list in my mind of goals that are really important to me. While I’m not quite structured enough to map out a 5-year plan, I can tell you without hesitation the top 3 or 4 things that I want to accomplish in the next couple years.
I think about them a lot.
I daydream.
Go big, they say.
So I do.
However, I’ve noticed that while I do tons of dreaming, I don’t always do much doing.
Why?
I’m waiting for perfect.
You know the drill. When money is good, when bills are all paid, when schedules are clear, kids are older, relationships are good, Netflix series bingeing is done, the dream job appears, etc. When everything is perfect, the time will be right.
And guess what?
Perfect never comes.
I’ve been waiting a long time.
Currently, I have some writing that I know I need to do but I’m waiting for the perfect little writing spot in my house to completely come together. I have it cleared it out. I have some of the decor already. I have a plan. But, I’ve convinced myself that nothing can happen until I am sitting in the creative spot of my dreams (with my non-existent budget). No words can flow from my imagination in any other space. In the meantime, I’m wrapped up waiting for perfect and it’s so comfortable. I watch incredible storytelling, and read great books and get inspired and think – oh that’s part of my dream too. But I don’t move.
The quilt of procrastination is just so warm and snuggly.
But on the other hand…
Waiting is getting boring.
I want to be about pursuing.
Who wants to be cozy all the time?
Pursuing our dreams is all about activating what is inside of us. It is taking that step into the unknown. It is trusting in our Maker, and in ourselves. It involves sacrifice, it involves determination, it requires us to work hard, it’s not always cozy and warm. It doesn’t wait for perfection, it makes the most of reality.
Pursuing is living with faith even when things look less than perfect.
I’ve decided that I’m no longer waiting for perfect. Perfect doesn’t exist. So, I’m breaking the self-inflicted pressure off of myself. Waiting for my Pinterest-inspired office space can’t control my creativity. The perfect temperature outside no longer determine my health. The perfect schedule won’t affect my relationships. The mess in my house shouldn’t rule my hospitality. The struggles in my life won’t change my goals. I’m throwing off the cozy quilts.
I don’t need to be perfect.
You don’t need to be perfect.
Perfect is over-rated.
When we wait for perfection, we accomplish nothing.
What we pursue in reality, we are planting in faith.
Sow in the wind.
Reap in the rain.
Stop waiting for perfect.
Ecclesiastes 11:4 (TLB)
If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.