Because being ordinary is more than enough.
In a world bombarded by perfection, fame, wealth, and appearances, we often take terrible physical or psychological risks in order to maintain a facade of coolness or sense of belonging among our peers.
We have all internalized the belief that our self worth is predicated on external validation and illusions of belonging.
In trying to uphold the perception of perfection and happiness, we have all internalized the belief that our self worth is predicated on external validation and illusions of belonging. Our struggles with feeling inadequate or unworthy are universal. We are all so fixated on where we want to go, who we want to be, what we want to look like, and how we want to get there that when our perfect expectations are broken, it leads to shame and guilt.
As Berne Brown said, when we have our self-worth riding on the realization of something that we can’t control, we place our self worth at jeopardy. If we are going to recognize and accept that what makes us human, including our imperfections and less-than-extraordinary lives, we must embrace our fears and vulnerabilities. Through my experiences, I have learned that perfection is unattainable. It is, and has been, an unrealistic expectation I have set for myself in the past, and in relentlessly acting in order to achieve this expectation, I have not only compromised my mental and physical health, but sense of self worth. Perfection is unrealistic. Being ordinary is underrated. What if being ordinary is enough. Being enough. Now that's a life worth living.
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