We all know a few women who seem to have perfect lives, right? They always look flawless, their kids are straight out of a magazine, their house is immaculate, and their husband is always holding their hand.

They’re just…perfection.

But guess what?

It’s not true. These “amazing Amys” – the women who have it all together (allllll the freakin’ time!) – they don’t exist. They may look perfect from the outside, but they’re all dealing with their own version of real life on the inside, just like you and me.

Because here’s the thing: being perfect is totally unattainable.

And you know what else? Perfection doesn’t inspire anybody!

But what does inspire others is owning your imperfections, and tapping into the beauty and the freedom that comes from doing so.

Let’s wait a sec, though, and get real — it ain’t easy. We all face great pressure to make our lives perfect, and social media plays a huge role in this. It’s so hard to avoid getting swept up in the comparison game, where we take the behind-the-scenes craziness of our normal lives and compare it with the carefully selected version of life that people post online.

But if we can turn the table on perfection, and see it for what it really is – unattainable – we can then lessen its control over us, and instead…

• strive to align our lives with our core values, not with being perfect.
• remind ourselves that everyone is broken in some way, and instead of making us unworthy, it makes us more beautiful.
• stand in the knowledge that we were created to be ourselves – our real selves – and that we were born on purpose and for a purpose.

Sound better? Bam! Take that, perfection!

But still, I know….easier said than done. I get it. That’s why sometimes it helps to have someone step up and be real about their imperfect life first, to get you all nice and warmed up to start owning your own, right? Well, let that person be me. Feast your eyes on some examples from my totally imperfect life:

1.     Sometimes I wear clothes with stains on them. Like, out in public.
2.     My daughter said “shit” the other day. Oops.
3.     My kids brush their own teeth. They’re 6, 4, and 2.
4.     Sometimes one show on Netflix turns into an entire season. True confession.
5.     My house looks like it’s been robbed 23 out of 24 hours a day.
6.     My husband and I argue. Yep, we do.
7.     Even though I’ve been very successful with my business, I still get nervous and don’t know what to do.
8.     When the pizza guy came to deliver pizza the other day, I took money out of my daughter’s wallet because I didn’t have any cash. And I probably won’t pay her back.
9.     I’ve broken hearts and had my heart broken too.
10.  My daughter’s school has called before because I forgot to pick her up.
11.  It was “picture day” at my daughter’s school the other day, and even though my sister reminded me about it twice, I still forgot.  Oh, and they had stains on their clothes.
12. We left the damn Elf on the Shelf on a lightbulb and turned it on. Almost burnt the damn house down. He now has a hole in his hat.

Moral of the story: everyone’s got their mess. So, own yours.

Friends, don’t be afraid to be you. Embrace your imperfections and lean into your imperfect life. The world is full of people trying to act perfect and be perfect.  Simply put, we are all beautifully broken. The boldest move is to show up exactly as you are.

Lots of love,