Progress over Perfection

In one week since Making Things Happen I have been on fire, but what's more is that I can't begin to even count how many moments of pure, unadulterated discouragement I have encountered -- from myself!

Real talk.

The truth is, I fail on a daily basis.  I fail myself. I fail my friends. I fail my God.  BUT, it's what I do in those moments that make me who I am. There is a choice to be made when we fail, do we let our failures define and discourage us or do we let them build us back up, teach us and encourage us to do better next time.

I have to get better at choosing the latter.

I used to get this feeling when I would go on retreats or missions with my youth group in high school. I would get this extended time of being reinvigorated in the Lord, and then I would return to "real life."  For a few days, I would do great, reading scripture every day, choosing my words and actions carefully, being consistent in prayer, and then something would throw me off.  Somehow, I never got fully back on the train, I held on as best as I could, but at some point I'd just fall off and never give it another thought until the next retreat.

I'm done with that.

Making Things Happen changed me.  Scratch that.  I changed at Making Things Happen.  I saw my big dreams. I saw what it would be like to live them. I gave myself to them fully, and I committed to stop letting fear stand in my way.  What I didn't realize until this week was that I needed to commit to stop letting moments of discouragement after small failures stand in my way.  I need to make peace with the fact that I am not perfect, I will fail, I will never stop failing, but it is a standard of progress, not perfection that I must aim for.

Graphic by Emily Ley

Emily shared this beautiful graphic with the world a while back.  She holds herself to the "Standard of Grace, not Perfection."  I love it.  My progress is not my own.  ("For it is by Grace I have been saved, through faith. It is a gift from God, not from works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:8-10) Therefore I must also remember that if I let my failures deter me from progress, I am turning my back on His Grace -- and HIS power is made perfect in my weakness. (I love this saying I saw on Pinterest: "When the world knocks you to your knees, you are in the perfect position to pray.")

So here it is... I'd like to acknowlege my moments of progress (and His grace given to me) in the past week...

• I shared 18 graduation announcements on the Sarah Anne Watson Design facebook page, and I am sharing them on The Blog as the graduations pass.  (Congratulations Graduates! Major accomplishments deserve major kudos...)
• I reached the 25 paid jobs mark!  (PTL)
• I painted and "gilded" my very own desk, and tonight my sister helped me move it into my room to establish a quiet and comfortable workspace that is NOT in front of the TV.
• I started two phenomenal daily devotionals: Promises for Your Everyday Life and The Confident Woman, both by Joyce Meyer.  And, I'm using the YouVersion Holy Bible app for the iPhone... (Take up your Sword.)
• I have been on time to work EVERY day this week! WAHOOO.
• I crossed a handful of things off my 101 in 1,001 list (though they weren't all accomplished this week, I crossed them off and posted them this week!)
• I have stayed in communication with the MTH ATL crew, cut back on the time I've spent on social media, watching TV and otherwise wasting my precious time.
• I started reading The Happiness Project

What have you accomplished this week? Where do you see yourself needing to acknowledge Grace over discouragement, Progress over perfection? What fires you up and keeps you going?

Feel the fear and do it anyway.

TIMESTAMP: May 4, 9:03 p.m.

Well... I had all these great plans to blog while waiting at the airport to fly home about my amazing experience at Making Things Happen.  But, I got here, and lo-and-behold the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport does not have free wi-fi.  In an effort to adhere to a standard of financial responsibility, I just could not bring myself to pay $9.95 for one hour of internet access.  I do not need to be connected THAT badly.  I mean, gracious, I spent 10 full hours on Thursday with my cell phone OFF and it was like 1993 with the lack of internet in my life. 

So here it is.  Type now, post later. Go time.

Without a doubt in my mind, yesterday was one of the greatest days of my life.  I gained clarity, I discovered hope, I harnessed strength, I witnessed enlightenment, I felt the all-encompassing power of my faith, and most importantly I pictured and believed in the beauty of my dreams.

I was surrounded by a remarkable group of women (not that MTH is girls-only, but our group didn’t happen to have any male attendees.) Women who were open in a way that was absolutely inspiring. I don’t have words to describe the candid way in which these women spoke. I have never experienced such raw emotion and genuine honesty -- and that’s not to say that I don’t surround myself with people who conduct themselves honestly, but when can anyone really say they have been in a room with 22 other people who had completely let down their guard, and without holding anything back, acknowledged the hard truths of their life and embraced them, as well as vocalized their big dreams and taken the first few steps to accomplishing them?  Until yesterday, I certainly couldn’t. But today, I metaphorically stand before you to say that I have seen it, I have experienced it, and it is BEAUTIFUL.

I’m sure I speak for all of us who were there when I say that the time we invested in ourselves (and, by proxy, in our families and our businesses) was among the greatest gifts we could have given ourselves.  Truly, in the society we live in, it is rare that we take a break from the nuances of our everyday life to be still, to reflect, to think, to make decisions, to make discoveries and to examine our lives for what they are, and determine whether we are on the path to the life we deserve.

What was even more phenomenal was the presence of God in that room. Now, by no means is MTH only intended for Christians (here I go again with the disclaimers) but it was by complete ordination that the room was filled with a group of strong believers.  I consistently heard the words: Lord’s Will, God’s Plan, God’s Glory, Sharing God’s Light, Following God’s Path, Answering His Call....  I mean y’all, the Holy Spirit was stirring something some kind of powerful in that room.  When they say God moves, they mean he really MOVES.  Now, personally, I can’t separate my idea of my life, and picture my dreams without seeing where God fits into every aspect of every detail.  It is my dream to live out God’s plan for my life, and to make manifest His glory that is within me.  That said, I felt God speak to me through those women, and what’s even more amazing is I felt him speak through me to help them!  Y’all that’s some powerful stuff! At the end of the day, Lara said to me, “I’m so glad you were here. You really inspired people today.”  My heart burst in that moment.  I feel called to so many things in my life, but truly I feel I am called to encourage and build others up through the Lord, but to hear someone who is so inspiring to me say that I inspired others, was just more than I could even contain in my joy tank. Talk about a full heart. My only answer to this is please, PLEASE, know that none of this comes from me.  My "wisdom" is God-sent, do not mistake it for my own.  (Really, most of the time, I don’t even know what I have just said in the sentence before, so obviously I didn’t think it up myself.)

Alright, so enough mushy-gushy, lovey-dovey talk, let’s get down to business. It’s time for real talk.

In the effort to remain somewhat private, and protect the privacy of my fellow MTH Alumnae, I will not share with you the exact decisions that I made or anyone else made yesterday. However, I will tell you a few of the things that we all agreed upon to be universal truths.

• YOU are worth it.  (All of it. Love. Joy. Hope. Success. Passion. ALL OF IT.)
• You are far too smart to be the only thing holding you back. 
• We must STOP making excuses -- Fight with yourself. Combat your excuses. Prove yourself wrong.
• LIfe is too short to not live a life you love, and a life full of big things and accomplishments you’re proud of.
• Fear is a LIAR. Feel the fear and do it anyway!

I want to challenge you today. My first challenge is to take Lara’s Challenge.  (Click on the link to go to the post.) Make a list of your big dreams and start taking the baby steps toward them.  Visualize the life you dream of, own it, talk about it the present tense, feel what it would be like to really live it and then allow NOTHING to deter you from getting there.

All my love. Go live your dreams.

xoxo. S.