is it a virtue?

yesterday i had an awesome discussion about progression with a close friend.
my thoughts proceeding the conversation were a little like this...
i feel like i am in way over my head, but instead of cleaning out unnecessary to-dos i just pile them up and hope for the best.
i want to be a runner, a reader, a cook, a nutritional expert, an allergy specialist, a dermatologist, an entrepreneur, a gospel scholar, a great leader for my girls at church, a fabulous wife, and a fantastic mother.
do you know how hard it is to get all these things mastered in one day?
holy cow. talk about feeling insecure.
so i brought up my predicament and felt much more relieved to know i am not alone.
i sense that many of us feel pressured to be perfect when in all reality, we are not ever taught to be "perfect".
it is about progression.
did you catch that? it's tricky because they almost sound the same. say it fast: perfect/progress.
see what i mean?
progress is continually moving forward and onward. seeking to be better than the day before.
perfect is already being there and having no need to change.
do you tend to be one who wants to be five years advanced and yet hates waiting five years to get there.
what the heck?!
patience has never been my strong suit.
my friend and i concluded that most of our progress will happen has life happens. in the things we experience unexpectedly rather than what we plan for.
we didn't plan on nikson and that alone has changed everything about our lives.
it is interesting what one must do in order to actually progress. there is effort involved, a breaking of bad habits or smoothing out some habits that have potential for growth, and a resolution and determination to achieve something greater.
handsome started reading a book titled, born to run, and it has kind of motivated us to exceeding our own expectations. my eyes have been a little more opened to the capabilities of humans.
there is an obvious pull within me to compare, which is dangerous, but mostly it has fueled me with the desire to keep at "it".
some days i am not the perfect wife or mother or leader.
but other days i try to be better.
i also have to admit that my buns probably won't ever be as juicy as gisele's, my food may never taste as great as rachael ray's, and my life may never seem as perfect as naomi davis.
thats ok with me. i will create my own great.
i can progress with real power when i embrace that fact that becoming better is just as great as the desire for perfection.
besides, why would i want to miss out on what makes me the happiest?

photo by tyson call