It's crazy how society sells us the lie that we have to have our lives together; everything has to be perfect, aesthetically pleasing, rushed and made into this perfect Tiktok reel. Because if not, you must be certainly doing something wrong. So many has fallen into this trap of a rushed, perfect and carefully curated glow up that we forget that success doesn't just happen. We forget to grow organically, at our own pace.
I've always hated beginnings because it's always messy awkward, weird, and rough. Anytime I start something new I always feel like I must be good at it immediately; if not, what is the point? I feel like I'm the only one that wants to get to the part where everything is okay, where everything is fine, where I'm at the best version of myself and where I just want to be good at everything immediately. But one thing I always forget to tell myself is that I can't just magically know how to do anything. if I don't start, if I don't practice, if I don't learn.
And God forbid I fail, then I'm done. I've always hated failure. I'm scared of it, scared of making mistakes, scared of being laughed at, so I try to make sure I don't. That's why I don't like trying new things. I stick to what I know, what I'm used to, to avoid the embarrassment. But I realized that from failure, you learn more genuinely. From mistakes, you know what is right and acceptable. I'm currently learning that it's okay to fail, to make mistakes, to be bad at things; that I can't be better at the snap of my fingers that it doesn't have to be perfect, just enough. Everything has to be messy before it becomes better.
Life doesn't always have to be put together. Everything doesn't always have to look good. Allow yourself to bloom without rushing the process. Don't romanticize the idea of an overnight success, because the best kind of glow-ups are slow, awkward and low-key. Make mistakes and laugh over it. Try new things and be bad at it. Want to join the choir but not confident in your voice? Do it anyways. Dance to the songs that make you come alive, even if you dance badly.
Do what you love, not what is perfect. Take time to master your craft. You don't just get good out of the blue, do it with shaky hands. Start over if you have to, no matter how embarrassing. Take time to learn again. Express new ideas in different ways. Do it slowly. Let go of comparison. It's YOUR growth, YOUR craft. It's not going to look like THEIRS.
Yes, I'm still growing. I'm still learning. Learning how to grow at my own pace, without the pressure. And one thing I have realized is, growth is not going to be pretty or perfect, okay? It's messy, it's ugly, and that's how it is meant to be. You're not late. You're not behind. You're still in progress and that's a good place to be. You'll get to that perfect picture in your head, that impossible goal, that unbeatable vision. So take off the pressure, take a deep breath, and keep grinding................
It's Abeegail 😉✨
Still growing, still glowing,