"kels. you're imperfect."
but before i could argue or defend myself, he concluded:
"you're just like me. you have a streak of idealism in you."
back up twenty seconds before that:
i had been quite unhappy with a particular situation, but in a matter of 10 seconds, my dad nailed it.
i'm an idealist.
isn't it strange how these epiphany's come about and all of a sudden you make so much more sense to yourself?
example.
i had a halloween get-together dinner a few months ago, and no one, and i mean no one was allowed into my apartment until all the candles had been lit, all the plates were perfectly set, or until i finished burning the spooky sounds cd so something eerie could be playing in the background.
i even bought gross gummy eyeballs to put in our drinks.
so why did i do this? why? did people really care that the cupcakes were to be decorated with mini headstone cookies, or that there were matching reeses pieces and MnMs on the table?
the answer is: no.
in fact, if anything, more people complained about they icky eyeball taste in the drinks and the creepy screaming baby in the background.
but it didn't matter to me, nope.
because the the. fact. of. the. matter. was. (and still is):
i'm an idealist.
like a martha stewart, in a way.
and unfortunately, sometimes and some days
(as great as my motivations tend to be)
it can also cause a few problems;
i get too stressed or too frustrated with myself (or with others) when things are less than...
ideal.
after another 30 minutes of conversing, my dad left me with this wise advise:
"kels, strive for excellence, not for perfection; you're going to give yourself a heart attack if you don't."
and for the most part, that thought has really helped me since.
and just in case there's another one or two "martha stewarts" out there (just like me!)
i thought i might as well share it with you guys, too.
and last but not least,
i also want to say thanks, dad,
(if you ever happen to read this)
i'll add a few years on to my life because of your wise advice, and ps.
i don't always admit it, but i'm really glad that i turned out a lot like you.
6 comments:
I really like this blog... it kind of helped me realize that I am also an idealist in many ways. I really have to have things the way I consider them ideal even though it might not be ideal to other people. I really enjoyed this and you have a very insightful and understanding father.
I am totally that way, too. When we first got married, I thought everything had to be a certain way, and our apartment had to be really clean ALL THE TIME, and everything had to be perfect. I nearly drove myself nuts (and my husband, too).
I learned that good enough really is good enough. Though for certain things, perfectionism can be great, for most things, it's not necessary. Your dad sounds really cool. Mine also tells me to chill out quite frequently... ha.
that's great advice. what a great dad. i love that thought.
your dad gives really good advice! It's good to be motivated to excellence, but at a certain point it becomes crippling to your enjoyment of life.
Glad you had a revelation about it (cause you can't work on something you aren't aware of).
Thanks for sharing! The idealist in me definitely needed this! (But how will I help myself?!)
=D
Thank you so much for all of your support and encouragement! Seriously, I know I thanked all of the blogs I read that are LDS because of how true you demonstrate the gospel to be, but seriously I don't think you guys understand how influential it was to me. You are truly a demonstration of the truth of the Church, and I am so grateful to have met you through blogs!
Post a Comment