Gav and I have been going to the batting cages a bunch this summer. He was focused the other day on getting 10 out of 10 in one of the drills he was doing.
He was getting close but would miss one and then start again. We had to leave the cages to go to an appointment so I lowered the goal for time sake. He was still determined to get 10 out of 10.
I heard myself say, “focus on progress, not perfection.”
Have you ever said something to your child, or someone else, and you realize the message is for you too?
After saying those words I felt like God whispered to my heart, “practice that yourself too.”
Admittedly I am a perfectionist. Not in that my house or car are clean, because they are often, especially my car, a disaster. But I expect a lot out of myself each day and when I don’t meet my goals, like Gavin, I am hard on myself.
Can you relate? If so, I invite you to join me to…
pause. breathe. pray.
May we stop trying to be perfect and set realistic goals for ourselves. Stephen always reminds me to say what I did do that day rather than focusing on what I didn’t accomplish. And like I did with Gavin, may we set realistic goals for our timeframe so when we walk away we have gratitude for the progress we made rather than beating ourselves up mentally for not being perfect.
God says in his word to practice his word, not perfect it, so if God isn’t expecting perfection from us, why are we?
With love and hope,
Shawn
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Put into practice what you learned and received from me, both from my words and from my actions. And the God who gives us peace will be with you.
- Philippians 4:9