Magnificent Mediocrity: Celebrating a Life Filled with Imperfection

At my core, I am a perfectionist: the child who was afraid to try something until she was sure she could do it perfectly the first time, the adolescent who pretended to dislike activities in order to avoid the embarrassment of imperfection, the college student who took “safe” classes and avoided the challenging ones most of the time. To others, I might have looked quite put-together. After all, I got awesome grades and was fairly talented in my chosen activities.

But at the heart of most perfectionism is fear. Fear of failure, fear of embarrassment, fear of judgment, fear of mediocrity.

Having my own daughter, and now a son, has taught me more lessons than I can even begin to number. Among them: the joy in trying something new! As they grew from sleepy newborns into mobile little people, I watched my innocent little offspring drink in life at every opportunity. Every waking second of their lives was spent trying new things with more glee and verve than I knew possible!

When my son discovered that his vocal chords had the capacity to express emotion, he exercised that skill with every screech, squawk, and scream his tiny body could muster, without even a moment’s consideration about what his audience might think! When my daughter realized her arm was attached to her body AND controlled by her very own intentions, she whacked that arm at every object, moving or stationary, that happened to be in her vicinity. Over and over, with a face full of determination!

Magnificent Mediocrity: Celebrating a Life Filled with Imperfection
Deep in concentration!

We mothers often say things like, “I just can’t cook,” or “My husband is the only one who can do all those handyman jobs,” or “I’m not any good at {blank}.”  But what does that teach our children?

  • If it’s hard, don’t do it.
  • If you aren’t good at it, don’t do it.
  • If someone else can do it better, don’t do it.

I made a sweeping decision, watching my children whack their fat arms at toys and sing loud screeching baby songs with reckless abandon. I watch them both with wonder and admiration, at the way they take delight in the abilities of their own bodies. They push themselves, failing with astonishing repetition, eventually finding themselves doing things they didn’t even know possible. And that is the way I want to live!

Magnificent Mediocrity: Celebrating a Life Filled with Imperfection
I got my own cereal! Nailed it!

My decision? I must embrace my mediocrity. I am NOT the best at most things I do. But that won’t stop me from doing it anyway. I will not sit in my house, actionless, waiting for the day that perfection arrives, because that day isn’t coming. Instead, I want to model a better way, a healthier mindset, a more joyful life.

Try it! Practice it! Enjoy it! Fail! Practice some more! Laugh! See what your body can do! Push yourself!

My kids are going to see their mama with paint in her hair, and flour on her shirt, and dirt under her fingernails, and they’ll know that life is about doing, and feeling, and laughing, and trying.

I’m going to sew my little girl dresses, and when I sew them crooked and the seams are bumpy, we’ll just call them nightgowns. Even though the pictures I paint won’t grace the walls of any museum, they can certainly decorate our bathroom. I’m going to attempt a new recipe every once in a while, and we can all close our eyes and take a nervous bite, unsure whether it will be a successful product or just a fun process.

My kids are going to see their mama with paint in her hair, and flour on her shirt, and dirt under her fingernails, and they’ll know that life is about doing, and feeling, and laughing, and trying. I’m going to stop criticizing my body, and start using it more, for things it maybe hasn’t done before.  And hopefully, these little people that look up to me and call me mama, might just do the same.

Magnificent Mediocrity: Celebrating a Life Filled with Imperfection

What is something you’ve always thought you couldn’t do, or have just been afraid to try? Want to try it with me?

 

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Lianna
Lianna is a homesteading mama of three: a sparkly seven-year-old daughter, a joyful five-year-old boy, and a confident three-year-old boy. After graduating from the University of Iowa’s college of education, she started Wondergarten Early Enrichment Home, a multi-age, play-based early childhood program. A self-proclaimed Queen Dabbler, she has a long list of hobbies (from gardening and canning to sewing and painting), and doesn’t mind being only mediocre at all of them. She lives with her husband, mother, three kiddos, dog, cat, rabbits, dwarf goats, and chickens on an acreage in the country. The Cornally family spends their time talking about education, learning how to grow and preserve their own food, and romping around in their woods.

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