Perfectionism, as much as we'd like to deny it, runs in all of our blood. We set such high expectations for ourselves, that the moment something doesn't meet those expectations, we feel as if we might as well drop dead.
Let me give you a prime example. For a long time I'd check the weather for the next day before I went to bed. I'd go to sleep expecting to wake up the next morning to what was forecasted. Well, living in the Midwest, the weather app was about as reliable as a wet paper bag. Needless to say, due to my never ending frustration, the weather app and I got divorced a few months ago. But don't worry, I'm fine - it was for the best.
More often than not, we think we can control our lives. But let me let you in on a little secret - it's impossible. The moment we start setting expectations for ourselves, the more likely we are to experience distress and the more inclined we are to start losing our sanity...and probably all of our hair...by the time we reach 30.
I like to refer to this kind of lifestyle as living in the emergency lane. I was reading a book the other day called "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" by Richard Carlson, and he addressed this concept. It simply means we like to take every little mishap and treat it as if our lives just exploded into shambles.
How often do we find ourselves living this way? Oh my goodness your sister just ate the last cookie?! No way, you had a piece of lettuce stuck in your teeth since your lunch hour?! You've got to be kidding me, you didn't get to the meeting exactly on time?! I am so sorry!
No one likes a complainer. No one likes someone who has pity parties all the time. Life happens, people! We can't whine about those moments when what actually happens doesn't match what we planned to happen.
This is why expectations are for the birds! They cause us to be slaves to ourselves. The important thing to do is to learn to not take life too seriously and to have a sense of humor when it comes to the curve balls life throws our way.
Don't make mountains out of molehills, and don't live in the emergency lane. We already have the boy who cried wolf, we don't need a worldwide population of humans who cry emergency. The moment you find yourself, or your loved ones doing so, just repeat the mantra "change lanes" over and over until it becomes habitual to take life's small mishaps with a grain of salt.
