The Stress of Being Perfect

March 4, 2022

When 24 Hours a Day is Not Enough

When I was growing up, my parents tells me how much better things were when they were young. Life was easier. More calm and definitely less stressful. 

Being in the anti-acne business and knowing the correlation between stress and skin, I wonder if fewer people suffered from acne? I say most definitely! 

I know my blog will resonate with so many of you as it pertains to the accelerating treadmill we call life. Was life really so much more peaceful 60+ years ago compared to 40+ years ago, when I was young? And how does 2022 compare to the pace of life even in the ‘80’s?

As a busy mom, a wife, a business owner, a dog owner, a home owner and an active member of my community, I wonder how my kids will view their childhood. Will they remember it as “more calm,“ “more relaxed,” “less chaotic” than the lives they will be living in 20+ years from now?

Because from where I sit, I have to tell you, I cannot FATHOM life as being any more chaotic. 

From sunrise to sunset, my day is chock full with no minutes to spare. Sure, just like everyone, I’ve read ALL the articles about mindfulness. About life organization. About the traits of successful people. Despite it all, no matter if I wake up 2 hours earlier, if I drink my ground flax seed and lemon first thing in the morning, if I have an organized checklist for the day, I NEVER, EVER, feel like I accomplished all that I needed to do that day, despite my perseverance. And finally at 10pm, when I sit down for the first time, with my laptop propped on my lap to shoot off some emails I didn’t get around to earlier in the day, I am able to reflect on the fact that my life is FULL And I am not saying that in a grateful “I am blessed” kind of way. I am saying that as there is no chill time, no down time, no me time. 

And I am not alone. 

99% of the women (and men for that matter) that I know, will likely say the same thing. When did life get so busy? When did life get so stressful?

Is it the news that we are shown 24 hours a day? Is it the abundance of “once in a lifetime” events that now seem to happen every year? Is it that the strive for perfection has become a part of our inner workings? Is the solution to just breathe and let things NOT be perfect? Are we even capable of doing that?

This week, when I asked Pamela if she had any blog ideas, she said immediately, “The stress of moving” (she is moving). When I shot that down, she said “Okay, how about, is sleep necessary for life?” Again, she is pulling from her life right now. We are all so maxed out in our daily lives, it is hard to even consider sitting down, reading a book and taking a “me” break.

But after all this complaining, I am here to tell you (and myself apparently), that it is not only OK to take a break, but imperative that you do periodically.

In the “olden” days of my parents’ youth, things WERE different. There was not a car for every family member. There was not a television in every room and if you missed a show, you missed it and guess what? You lived through it. There were not the mass amount of processed foods and fast foods to consume. Food was “slow cooked” by your mom with love. Teenagers did not have phones surgically attached to their hands. They actually knew how to make and maintain friendships the old fashioned way – face to face. And yes, people were a bit more naive when it came to world events – they did not get to witness a war in real time. 

And my guess is that because of all of this, there was in fact less acne. 

More sleep (due to less stress), better work-life balance (due to lower cost of living and lack of being able to be online 24 hours a day), less preservatives in the food, more outdoor time and likely, more movement increasing blood flow to the skin. Overall LESS STRESS. 

So what is the take-away from this less than standard blog post? Sell your house and your car and move to the country and grow your own fruits and vegetables?  Well… no, I guess not many of us could swing that. But what we can and must do is to breathe. Give yourself a goal every day to give yourself the grace of time for yourself. Whatever that means. To take a run, read a book for 10 minutes, drink your coffee while looking out at the hills. Whatever you need to do for YOU to destress. Do it and make it a priority. And I promise that your body, and your skin, will thank you for it.