The Messy Middle Is Where It’s At

I think I’ve written about the Messy Middle before. Probably because that’s where I’m usually hanging out!

But no one else is, right?

As someone who grew up with a perfectionistic judgey voice in my head, I imagine that almost everyone else is keeping up much better than I am, That You All have some secret to life and are happy and organized and getting your stuff done, that I haven’t figured out yet. I see you #livingyourbestlife on Instagram and Facebook… that’s the way it is for you, right?

And me, I’m always feeling like I’m running-running-running, trying to catch up. I’m always behind.

I get it– this is all a myth, one that’s out there, one that’s in my head. The “everybody else has it figured out and I’m failing” myth. We all usually post photos of the good days, the special days, the pretty days. When I look at those posts, I compare my shit-days to your good-days, and then I’m back to judging myself. This is not a good plan to live by.

So I pause and remember to breathe, tell myself it’s okay, perfectionism isn’t a goal because it isn’t real or remotely possible. I can look around my Messy Middle Life and (breathe again) count the things I’m grateful for. There are so many. Remember comparison is the thief of joy (I think Brené Brown said that). It’s just good and okay to be here in my Messy Middle Life on my Messy Middle Couch. It really is.

Photo by Sahin Sezer Dincer on Unsplash.com