Let Go of Pandemic Perfection

I’m grumpy. Really grumpy. It’s bad enough that we have a horrible pandemic, but now, we are getting a tsunami of expectations placed upon us—and by us, I mean mostly working women.

Headlines encourage me to rearrange my furniture to boost my mood, to replicate my favorite restaurant dishes with home cooking wizardry, and to start elaborate crafts. I should also apparently be writing a novel and doing a workout in my living room, while color coding the home schooling schedule. Who has time?! I am busy wiping down my groceries and ignoring my children.

Full confession: I wasn’t a super chef or a very good housekeeper before this pandemic, and under emotional duress I am not likely to turn into Martha Stewart-meets-Mary Poppins. Yet I still feel resentment, stress, and concern that I am not good enough: not as a wife, or as a mother, or as a worker.

So in this spirit, here are 10 affirmations for letting go of perfectionism during a pandemic.

1. Today, I’m not judging myself or others.
2. I trust myself to navigate this moment.
3. I release any need to compare myself to anyone else.
4. Things don’t need to go exactly as planned.
5. Small steps are still forward progress.
6. Good enough is actually good enough.
7. I can observe chaos and uncertainty without fear.
8. I am already worthy.
9. I let go of expectations from myself and others.
10. Less is more.

Be gentle on yourself. We are all in uncharted waters, paddling as fast as we can. You were enough before this pandemic, and you are enough now. And when this eventually passes, there will be plenty of time to learn to knit or to get snazzy with the puff pastry. Or not.

For more, check out Julie Peters’ affirmations for negative self-talk.