That enjoying fashion isn’t the antithesis to being an intellectual. Society would have us believe these things are incompatible, but they aren’t. I can be a nerd who loves fashion!
Oh, I love this. Totally agree. Honestly, I think there’s something really smart about not just enjoying fashion but understanding it. It’s never just about clothes—there’s culture, psychology, history baked into it.
And wanting to look and feel great doesn’t cancel out being smart or capable. It just means… you want to look and feel great. That’s not a contradiction. XX
Last year, tragedy and trials forced me to finally abandon a lifelong commitment to perfection in preparation and outcomes.
Helping my parents move to assisted living in Northern California, then sitting watch while my mother passed, re-settling my father, clearing and selling my childhood home, and returning to Virginia to provide extended care for my grandchildren in between (six trips and months away from home) forced me to make consequential decisions and tackle hundreds of challenges— small and large, familiar and unfamiliar, ordinary and emotional—ready or not.
Thankfully, with Megan’s help I had already done the wardrobe work and could pack light and fast for all those flights! The wardrobe journey may have improved my decision process generally, just in time.
Anyway, believe it: Present is what matters, and perfect really is the enemy of good.
This is so lovely, I actually wrote down a couple of your helpful sentences to reflect on. Thank you! You are wise beyond your young years and I appreciate you🩷
yes to ALL of these! One of the BEST things about mid-life has been letting go of all the unrealistic expectations I used to put on myself.
But #14 especially hit for me - "Now I know that five things from the seasonal aisle at Target won’t solve anything. Clearing out a drawer brings me more peace than filling another one ever will."
I used to be a chronic impulse shopper who bought stuff to feel less lonely and to feel better about myself. But all the extra stuff never made me feel better...it just caused mental overwhelm every time I looked in my closet or my bathroom cabinets.
As my husband and I are planning to downsize in a year or two, one of the questions I'm asking myself now is "If I was moving to a two bedroom apartment, would this item come with me?" If the answer is no, it doesn't stay in my house or come home with me.
Last year, tragedy and trials forced me to finally abandon a lifelong commitment to perfection in preparation and outcomes.
Helping my parents move to assisted living in Northern California, then sitting watch while my mother passed, re-settling my father, clearing and selling my childhood home, and returning to Virginia to provide extended care for my grandchildren in between (six trips and months away from home) forced me to make consequential decisions and tackle hundreds of challenges— small and large, familiar and unfamiliar, ordinary and emotional—ready or not.
Thankfully, with Megan’s help I had already done the wardrobe work and could pack light and fast for all those flights! The wardrobe journey may have improved my decision process generally, just in time.
Anyway, believe it: Present is what matters, and perfect really is the enemy of good.
Strength training to look good to a paradigm shift to Strength training to function.
That enjoying fashion isn’t the antithesis to being an intellectual. Society would have us believe these things are incompatible, but they aren’t. I can be a nerd who loves fashion!
Oh, I love this. Totally agree. Honestly, I think there’s something really smart about not just enjoying fashion but understanding it. It’s never just about clothes—there’s culture, psychology, history baked into it.
And wanting to look and feel great doesn’t cancel out being smart or capable. It just means… you want to look and feel great. That’s not a contradiction. XX
#20!
“Perfect” is procrastination in good lighting.
Last year, tragedy and trials forced me to finally abandon a lifelong commitment to perfection in preparation and outcomes.
Helping my parents move to assisted living in Northern California, then sitting watch while my mother passed, re-settling my father, clearing and selling my childhood home, and returning to Virginia to provide extended care for my grandchildren in between (six trips and months away from home) forced me to make consequential decisions and tackle hundreds of challenges— small and large, familiar and unfamiliar, ordinary and emotional—ready or not.
Thankfully, with Megan’s help I had already done the wardrobe work and could pack light and fast for all those flights! The wardrobe journey may have improved my decision process generally, just in time.
Anyway, believe it: Present is what matters, and perfect really is the enemy of good.
This is so lovely, I actually wrote down a couple of your helpful sentences to reflect on. Thank you! You are wise beyond your young years and I appreciate you🩷
yes to ALL of these! One of the BEST things about mid-life has been letting go of all the unrealistic expectations I used to put on myself.
But #14 especially hit for me - "Now I know that five things from the seasonal aisle at Target won’t solve anything. Clearing out a drawer brings me more peace than filling another one ever will."
I used to be a chronic impulse shopper who bought stuff to feel less lonely and to feel better about myself. But all the extra stuff never made me feel better...it just caused mental overwhelm every time I looked in my closet or my bathroom cabinets.
As my husband and I are planning to downsize in a year or two, one of the questions I'm asking myself now is "If I was moving to a two bedroom apartment, would this item come with me?" If the answer is no, it doesn't stay in my house or come home with me.
#20!
“Perfect” is procrastination in good lighting.
Last year, tragedy and trials forced me to finally abandon a lifelong commitment to perfection in preparation and outcomes.
Helping my parents move to assisted living in Northern California, then sitting watch while my mother passed, re-settling my father, clearing and selling my childhood home, and returning to Virginia to provide extended care for my grandchildren in between (six trips and months away from home) forced me to make consequential decisions and tackle hundreds of challenges— small and large, familiar and unfamiliar, ordinary and emotional—ready or not.
Thankfully, with Megan’s help I had already done the wardrobe work and could pack light and fast for all those flights! The wardrobe journey may have improved my decision process generally, just in time.
Anyway, believe it: Present is what matters, and perfect really is the enemy of good.