perfectionism stinks

perfectionism stinks - give up the facade of being perfect and just be YOU

You may have noticed I haven’t posted much about the flip house lately (affectionately dubbed Mouse House). As a new blogger, I get overwhelmed and caught up in the “perfect post” syndrome. The perfect post contains gorgeously styled, tack sharp photos, witty banter written in “my voice”, and the all-important “pinterest worthy” graphic.

well.

needless to say with summer here, my 3 kiddos home all day, and moving into a new house and all that involves…. I do not have any of those “perfect post” requirements.

So what do I do? I don’t post about it at all.

ugh. that’s not fair to you, my loyal readers who have been following along with our progress and want to know how it’s going.  And it’s not fair to my awesome hubby who has been tirelessly working away over there day after really long day. And it’s not fair to me… who is missing out on sharing all this really great blog content just because I don’t have “THE” perfect photo.

so.

I am going to start sharing more. Even though my photography stinks and the house is not perfectly styled and my hubby hates getting his picture taken… and a thousand other reasons.

I need to start being more myself and less what I think “the perfect blogger” needs to be. Yes, I’m trying to build a business and un-styled messy photos do not get tons of follows on Instagram.

But guess what? I am not perfect and I don’t want any of you guys to think that I am anyway. I am a hugely flawed, imperfect sinner saved by the only truly perfect One to walk the Earth.

And I want my kids to know that they don’t have to be perfect either. In school, in life, in just every day things – isn’t it nice to know that we don’t have to measure up to this impossibly unattainable ideal?

The weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

I feel better already 🙂

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16 Comments

  1. I love this post and I know exactly how you feel.

    I remind myself daily not to get caught up in comparison and “done is better than perfect”!

    1. Amen Lisa! I need to hang that on my wall…done is better than perfect! So very true. Thanks for stopping by, my friend 🙂

    1. thank you so much Jann! It feels like a weight has been lifted now that I’m giving up the perfect stuff… Thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend! xo, Christy

  2. OMG Christy I feel your pain! This is exactly how I feel about our Lake House Fixer Upper project! I had this same confession on my to do list for our blog as well. It makes me crazy and it is paralyzing! You go girl! We can be the so-so bloggers with all the great ideas but not always the magazine pictures together!

    1. Y E S. I am so with you Leanne! I mean, the flip house is looking AMAZING. But just because it’s not staged to perfection and my photos are C average, I don’t feel like it’s ‘share worthy’. Isn’t that horrible?! I mean life is not always perfect, right?! I would rather be authentic and real. Life happens in the mess. I need to embrace it more. Hugs to you, my friend! xo, Christy 🙂

  3. Oh my goodness. Yes. A thousand times YES. I also struggle with this…and “keeping up” with the Big Bloggers. But feeling perpetually behind and allowing perfection paralysis to set in is the very thing that will suck all the fun out of this gig for me. For all of us. Thank you for the reminder that we just need to be real. Just “be you”. And celebrate right where we are-whether that means this bloggy gig or life or family. And I know that our great God will honor our efforts if we keep Him first and don’t get lost in this comparison trap. Thank you Christy, for this post. You’ve encouraged me so much. Hugs, sweet friend!

    1. big hugs right back at ya Sarah! Thank YOU for encouraging me. I love what you said about God honoring our efforts if we keep Him first. Isn’t it nice knowing we don’t have to be perfect or earn our salvation? thank goodness! what a horribly exhausting life that would be if were all running around trying to prove our worth to Him. I’m so thankful we don’t have to!

  4. Pingback: Classic Gray and White Bathroom | The Harper House
  5. I feel so much more connected to you now! Honey, we don’t want or need perfect, we need your heart, your true self. That’s it. Life is complicated and messy and never, ever perfect. I don’t want the people I follow in blog land to be perfect, what fun would that be? It causes people to be self-conscious about themselves and their lives because they see a perfection that they cannot attain. So, I applaud you, am proud of you, and appreciate a realness and the imperfections that make up YOU. A unique and perfectly imperfect you. God loves you, and your family loves you, and that’s all that matters. But we love you too! Keep writing!

    1. aww Melissa, you made my day! Thank you so much for your sweet comment. It’s notes like these that really warm my heart and remind me that I’m doing this for a reason. To connect with others, make new friends, and share my love of God & houses. LOL 🙂 I thank God every day for nudging me in this direction and putting everything in place to make this blog thing possible. I truly love it!

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  7. Oh my goodness, Christy!!! This post is so encouraging and freeing for this aspiring newbie blogger! Phew….I thought that I was the only one out there who felt this way. I am in the process of going through a pretty well-known blogging course and have been OVERWHELMED, discouraged and torn about it all. Perfectionism and comparison has definitely played a part too.
    I am a Christian missionary who travels on the road for our ministry much of the year, but my desire is to blog about decorating our home on a tight budget. The overwhelm comes in when I see other seemingly “perfect” bloggers’ homes and Instagrams. There’s no way that my home can be that perfectly staged, travel all the time, keep God and my family first and blog. Authenticity and being real is so important to me and I just have to believe that people appreciate that, even if our photos and homes aren’t Pinterest-perfect. But at the same time, I do understand that we should do all to the glory of God!
    I LOVE this post and the other one about how blogging has changed your life. Thank you for your content! It is so encouraging!

    1. Aw, thank you so much for your comment Kelly! It’s been several years since I wrote this post and it was fun to come back and re-read it. I completely know how you feel right now – the overwhelm with starting a blog is HUGE. My advice is to just take your time…there is no deadline, no need to rush. And know that even slow progress is still progress 🙂 If you need help, my friend Suzi is amazing and has all kinds of free blogging info: https://www.startamomblog.com (you can follow her on FB or Youtube as well for lots of free training videos.)
      And thank you for using your gifts to reach others in your mission work for God. How amazing! I have a feeling He is going to use you to do big things in the blogging world as well! It is so exciting to see how being obedient to His calling can take us places we never even dreamed of! I never in a million years thought I could make a full time living online, while still being at home for my kiddos. I always thought I had to work outside the home for that and I never really had the desire to do that. But God has truly blessed us with this blog and some other projects and it feeds my creativity while still allowing me to be a “stay at home mom” 🙂 God Bless!! xoxo

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