Present Over Perfect

If you could see my house right now—the overflowing number of Birchbox samples and Lord forbid, my closet—you might think I was completely carefree. And unorganized. (The latter of which would probably be true.)

But in reality, the notion of perfection has always been an inner dialogue for me, and sometimes, it can become paralyzing. So that I could throw the fiftieth hairspray sample away, but would if I needed it next week? And the mountain of shoes accumulating in my closet probably does need attending, but where would I even start? The Pinterest image in my head is too far away from reality, and so I just . . . don’t.

Been there?

The problem is, when the stakes are higher, so is the fear. (See where I’m going with this?) So that maybe you’ve got your first real deadline from a publisher, or an agent, or maybe you’re just bound and determined to meet your own deadline of finishing your WIP before a writing conference this year.

So you sit down at your computer, and one of two things happen. Either you spend countless time staring at the blinking cursor, or you madly dash toward an arbitrary word count, just to get those pages filled.

And either way, you come away dissatisfied. Unsettled. Because all your striving . . . well, it just wasn’t enough.

What if there was another way? A better way?

Lately in my writing, God has been teaching me to wait on Him for cues. We all say we want to wait on Him, and that’s fine and dandy until we need twenty more pages for our word count goals. But I’m learning that I could sit down for hours, writing away for the sake of achievement, all the while, spinning in circles. I can let fear of the unknown and rejection paralyze me from writing at all (--Is that where you are today? Because I’ve been there too.).

Or, I can wait on Him.

I can invite His presence into my story, and move when He moves. I can wait for those organic AH HA! moments to fall into place. And the funny thing is, I’m realizing I’m vastly more productive when I do.

Today I want to encourage you to be present over perfect. Because perfection and striving will leave you dangerously reliant on your own strength. Become more aware of the monologue inside your own mind and heart. What standards are you holding yourself to, and how do those align with the Spirit of God? Has your perfectionism become a stumbling block to the greater things God has called you toward? Are you so afraid of being imperfect that you’re afraid to move at all?

Let me hear from you! How do you manage to stay present with God rather than focusing on perfection?

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Ashley Clark writes romance with southern grace. She's dreamed of being a writer ever since the thumbprint-cookie-days of library story hour. Ashley has an M.A. in English and enjoys teaching literature courses at her local university. She's an active member of ACFW and runs their newcomer's loop. When she's not writing, Ashley's usually busy rescuing stray animals and finding charming new towns. You can find Ashley on her personal blog, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. She is represented by Karen Solem.