Perfection is an illusion

I’ve had people who tell me they envy me my life or at least parts of it. Why I wonder? My life is not perfect, in fact at times it is as far from perfect as you can get. It’s not all sunshine and roses, I just think the difference is that I try to look on the positive side of things, I do the best I can in any given situation (and often I get that wrong too)

Looking at the positives and striving to be the best person I could be were the greatest tools my parents ever provided me with.

People comment on how well mannered and hard working my boys are. I am immensely proud of my boys because it’s true they’re hard working respectful kids, but they didn’t get that way by chance. My hubby and I have fought long and hard to get them to that stage. They’re boys and they’re still human, they mess up, they swear, they fight, they drive me crazy at times and all I can do is keep guiding (read that as forcefully directing) them along the right paths. That’s not to say that I always get those paths right either.

Along that path they kick and they scream and they fight us and I keep reminding myself that all I can do is provide them with the tools to go out into the world and be worthwhile individuals, in the end though it’s their choice as to what they do with those tools.

My hubby for all his good qualities can be the most irritating man alive; I still love him though and try to take each day as it comes. It doesn’t mean that our marriage is perfect, probably far from it. We have to work at it. He still has the ability to hurt me, to make me cry and to make me angry beyond belief. I have to take the good with the bad, because no person is perfect, including me.

I’ve had people comment on my work situation or how lucky I am to have got to where I am today. There was no easy and joyful path for me, I worked my butt off and I’ve made my share of mistakes along the way. There are days when you wonder why you bother doing what you do or if the end result will be worth the effort. Honestly I still have so far to go to get to where I want to be, so I keep slogging it out.

The truth is that we should never envy another person’s life, because the reality is that nobody has a perfect life. Even the richest and most successful people in the world are not necessarily the happiest.

Life is what we make of it and instead of envying someone else’s life; we should work at making our own lives everything we dreamed they should be. The good life only comes through determination and hard work. The battles and the tears and the disappointment along the way only make the success and the triumphs that much more appreciated.

Just want to add my thanks to Cate whose blog I discovered a while ago. I participated for the first time in her Six Word Saturday yesterday and have had an amazing time today visiting new blogs as a result. Who would have thought that six simple words could be so powerful.

Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing. ~ Harriet Braiker