“I will be honest with my humanity / No I’m not perfect and I don’t pretend to be.” ~I from ”Point to You” by We Are Messengers
It’s okay. It’s okay if there are a lot of things you can’t do the right way right now. You’ve heard it said that to be human is to be imperfect. You need to know that it’s okay to make imperfect progress.
Be honest with your humanity, and be willing to make imperfect progress.
If you’ve been eating unhealthy for three days, and then you had one decent meal, that’s imperfect progress. If you splurged on ice cream that night, don’t get down on yourself. The ice cream did not ruin your progress—only your “I failed” attitude can ruin that.
If it's the first time in a week you woke up in the morning without pushing the snooze button, you made progress. If you have a hard time understanding what your college professor is talking about, but something clicked today, that’s progress. If you had one moment where you kept that leash around your mind and said “no” when you hadn’t done it before, you took one big step forward.
If you couldn’t get out of bed until 5 p.m. but then you finally did get out of bed, that’s progress. It doesn’t matter if it’s never been that hard to get out of bed before. You still got out of bed. If the next day, you couldn’t get out of bed until 8 p.m., don’t give up on yourself. Tomorrow is a chance to try again.
Don’t trust your feelings.
You may feel like you’re worthless—like you can’t do anything right, but your feelings are not trustworthy. Don’t give them control.
Don’t forget about the things that you’re doing right. If you stopped to talk to someone who was having a bad day, that can go on the list. If you thought about suicide for an hour, but you’re still alive, that goes on the list. If you cleaned something, if you sent someone an encouraging message, if you went for a walk even though all you wanted to do was lay on the couch, those are things you did right. You need to remember those.
Write out a list of three or more things you’ve done right and one thing to improve on.
Make a habit of writing a list of at least three things you’ve done right and one thing you can improve on. Make the list every night so you can go to sleep feeling good about yourself, and read it first thing in the morning to start your day off right.
Look back on those lists. Make goals and take steps to improve what needs to improve, and remember the progress you’ve made.
Always remember, if you look in the mirror and see someone useless, God never sees you that way.
I know You want my heart / My bruises and my scars / I'm coming as I am / The only way I can ~ from ”Point to You” by We Are Messengers
All you need is a heart willing to try, and He'll help you get where you need to go.
So, here’s a recap:
- Be honest with your humanity, and be willing to make imperfect progress.
- Don’t trust your feelings.
- Write out a list of three or more things you’ve done right and one thing to improve on.
When everything is awful and you’re not okay, here are some things to ask yourself before giving up.
Everything Is Awful and I’m Not Okay: questions to ask before giving up
You’re doing a better job than you think you are. You don’t have to be perfect. Lean on God. Together, you can do this. You can. You can. You can.
