"No Longer Waiting For Perfect" Weekly Wisdom

Do you believe perfection is the enemy of happiness?

When I was a younger Anne, I truly had an ideal of what the world was like. Call it being a kid and not knowing better, call it being naive, call it being a little girl who just wanted to have fun with her friends, call it being a young child growing up in a very small town. 

I had no idea things were not perfect. I thought everyone got along, everyone was successful, everyone was happy. Why would it be any different?  I do not think my parents sheltered me from anything and answered all the questions I had, I just truly believed everything was perfect. 

My beliefs of perfection trickled into high school, then to college, onto my first job and my marriage. Only to find out, all of it was far from perfect. It crushed me. I failed because I couldn't make my life be now what it looked like it was when I was younger. I didn't see the kids who struggled in high school with grades, family, friends - until I truly felt the struggle myself. When I was younger, I didn't see college was hard, hard work until I got my lowest GPA in my life the first semester. I thought everyone went to work, drank coffee, had a great day and came home to their families with a huge smile on their face. Until I started my first job and realized crying in the parking lot before going in, was not the professional life I envisioned. I thought once you said "I do" everything would fall perfectly into place:  home, kids, and pure bliss. Until none of that happened, vows were broken and the marriage failed, ending in divorce. 

Pure perfection right there. 

Nothing is perfect. Hoping for perfect is stupid. Letting perfection derail your happiness, truly is on you. 

The world has been on fire for months now, and the idea of perfection is proving to not exist in this world. Only we can change and adapt to how we want the world to be, how we can stop waiting for perfect and do our best to make it great. It starts with one tiny idea in our brains of how we "think" our lives and our world should be and changing that thought into how we can make our lives and world the best it can be.

It starts with me, it starts with you, it starts with us. 

#embracethehellyeah

~AE

"Your Dreams ARE Coming True" Weekly Wisdom

Do you ever feel like things just aren't going your way?

How many times have you blew out the candles on your birthday cake and non of of those wishes come true?  Or wish upon a falling star?  Or wish upon an eyelash as you blow it off your finger?

Because those are wishes. Things you would like to have happen that might or might not involve effort on your part. They are very different than your dreams coming true. 

Dreams should be things you are willing to work at to make happen. They should be what you want for your life in your profession, relationships and other goals you have for yourself. But they take work on your end. You have to make things happen and take certain steps to make your dreams come to life. They just "don't happen" to you because you wish for them. 

A lot of times, you cannot see how your dreams are coming true because you haven't gotten to the finished product but those steps you are taking...those are making them happen and brining them to life. And just like that, a dream comes true and it's just becomes part of your normal life. Then you start working on the next one and the next one. 

Don't mistake dreams for wishes and always be working toward your dreams. All of a sudden, those dreams turn into your life - the one you want and work for. 

#embracethehellyeah

~AE

"Making Memorial Day About Gratitude" Weekly Wisdom

Do you know the true meaning of Memorial Day?

If you said it's a 3-day weekend that kicks off summer, sorry, you are incorrect. Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the United States military. It was originally called Decoration Day, after the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. 

It is great we get a 3-day weekend and have time for parties and get togethers with family and friends, but I really want you all to take in what in really means. We are honoring human lives who served our country to defend our freedom and everything we have right now in our lives. Just making the decision to join the military is not one to take lightly, as I considered it once in my life and now wish I would have followed through. There is such honor in defending your country and Americans freedom. 

On Monday, May 25th, I ask you to set the timer on your phone, for 3 pm, local time to take a break from the festivities and participate in the National Moment of Remembrance. This happens every Memorial Day and for 1 whole minute, it is your opportunity to practice gratitude for over 1.1 million Americans who were killed in all U.S. Wars to date. 

Just one minute of gratitude for a lifetime of freedom. 

#embracethehellyeah

~AE