Aim For Progress, Not Perfection
If you saw my Instagram stories this past weekend, you heard me talking about a conversation that I had with a dear friend. She explained this feeling she and her friends have experienced when looking at our Instagram page, that it sometimes makes them feel anxious about their own spaces. *cue heart sinking onto the floor* “Wait, what?” I asked. I needed to know everything.
And you can bet, I’ve thought about this conversation every. single. day. since.
How can this feeling of anxiety—the very opposite of what I want people to feel—in fact be THE feeling some were having when coming to our page?
When I started Life in Jeneral, the intention behind it was to inspire, empower, and encourage people to organize and create a foundation in their home that supports the life they truly want to live. Teaching people along the way that you, in fact, can do this. No matter what size home you live in, how many people live in it, how much you have to spend (or not spend) on product, and everything in between. All that matters is that everything in your home should have a home and be something you love, use, or need and of course serve a purpose.
I wanted to go deeper, learn more, and understand, so I needed more feedback. And who better to give you the feedback than the very people who are feeling this way? So, I asked in our IG stories: does anyone else feel this way?
The overall response was astonishing.
I had hundreds of messages from people all over the world saying that they feel inspired, love our page (lots of organization porn comments that of course made me laugh) and feel everything our hearts stand for (lots of happy tears), but some did mention they feel what WE create is something they CAN’T. *cue heart sinking again*
Don’t get me wrong. I am so proud of the work we do and what we push out into this world, and I know we’ve changed thousands of lives in doing so...but this has made me realize that we don’t talk about the imperfect enough.
There’s this idea that a “Pinterest perfect” home and what you see on Instagram is what you should be aiming for. HECK TO THE NO! Having matching bins perfectly straight and in order, a color-coded closet, and a perfectly file folded underwear daily...is not REAL LIFE.
To my core, I believe implementing systems around your home sets a beautiful foundation so you can make more time for the thing that matters most: connection. I don’t want you to miss out on those moments with the people you love because you’re too busy “tidying up” and making sure your home is “perfect” at all hours. Whether it’s for your guests or even your own expectation of yourself and your home being a certain way, it’s exhausting and not sustainable.
Lastly, I want to say that I fully recognize the courage it takes to get organized. Taking initiative and control of your life is an incredibly remarkable thing. My team and I aim to hold this space for people who want to be on this journey, and we encourage doing it at your own pace, with zero judgment on our end. On a heart level, I know that so many people are hurting right now. Whether it’s emotionally, financially, or in any other way, I see your pain and want to be a source of help in any way possible. My aim in having this platform is that you feel inspired by the work we do and tailor our tips to work in your life, no matter what that looks like.
The irony in this whole idea of “perfection” being floated around this week is that my life (especially over the past year) has been SO far from perfect. We were having a big conversation at Life in Jeneral HQ regarding it all, and I shared with the team (and eventually our followers) the mess of cake crumbs that has been sitting in my car for over a month now. My “messy” car has been the best reminder that we are all doing the best we can, with what we have, but that perfect does not exist.
So please, I urge you to use our page as inspiration to set your foundation and maintain it when you can. And please, have the cake and don’t be afraid to let the crumbs get all over your car.
xo, Jen