Perfection Antagonizes Progress

This section will talk about perfectionism and how damaging it can be. Particularly how overwhelming being lost in the pursuit of perfection can get. It's understandable to not be able to see the forest for the trees when you're lost in a forest, since all you can see is trees. Life is also very rarely perfect and anticipating everything to go perfectly to plan is how devastating accidents happen. We plan for failure because..

Failure Is Inevitable, Resistence Is Progress

I've spent a lot of time nurturing nature to create bountiful harvest, and you come to learn that the strongest plants often are those that have endured immense stress. Rain suffocates roots, wind snaps delicate stems, the sun scorches and bombards the entire plant from root to fruit with cell damaging radiation, and all manner of wildlife feel entitled to the nutrients it provides. It's these same pressures however that demand adaptation and create more efficient vascular systems, thicker more resilient branches, and all other sorts of tricks like exploding seed pods. Try as you might to avoid failure you will come face to face with it consistently throughout your life so figuring out how to come to terms with and accepting that you can fail without being a failure will help you personally and professionally. You cannot push your limits and boundaries if you are not willing to fail. You cannot be so afraid to fail that you stand still. You must be willing to let yourself fall so that you can move forward. Have the patience and give yourself the grace to be able to pick yourself back up so that you can move forward. And remember..

Moments Of Weakness Don't Make A Weak Person

No one has lived a perfect life and anyone that tells you such is lying. You are often judged by your actions but to err is human. Sometimes we suffer from moments of weakness, but it's how we respond to those moments and what we take away from them and how we apply those lessons to our lives that tell the full story. I often find people associate negatively the idea of failure, weakness or being wrong to every facet of their life. It's okay to fail, it's okay to be weak and it's okay to be wrong. It's not okay to not try your best to do a little bit better every day. There's nothing wrong with ignorance until it becomes willful. I have been ignorant before and still remain ignorant to a great many things. I cannot and will never know everything. Ignorance is a default. Babies can't even hardly hold their own neck straight. Weakness is a default. It's how you approach the challenges in your life, the mindset that you carry with you that drives your growth and your resolve to continue your journey of redemption through the many failures you will encounter during your life that make you a strong person.

Seek Satisfaction But Chase Fulfillment

I don't exactly prescribe to the notion that if you do something that you love for your profession that you'll never work a day in your life. For the overwhelming majority of people, life is labor. You will almost never not find yourself in a situation where you are actively laboring, trading your health and time for some money. Instead I think it's important to find something that you find meaningful. You need to find something that you are passionate about. When you are motivated by something you find engaging and fulfilling you can build upon an unshakeable foundation. After you've found work that you find meaningful, engaging and fulfilling then finding satisfaction will come secondary. Your routines will adjust and it will not take effort to stop and smell the roses because you will have cultivated a garden around you.

Love Deeply And Unapologetically

I generally am not a person to have 'favourites'. I don't have a favourite color, or a favourite food. I could talk about how I feel about them for eternity though -- like how I find earthen tones incredibly calming or that food is a language everyone should learn to speak. I'm passionate about the things I find interesting and I'll never apologize for that enthusiasm. (Tell a lie, as a Canadian I'll apologize for nearly anything any time.. sorry.) I defend what I feel responsible for fiercly, but that does not mean I am stubborn or unwilling to compromise with change. I think it's important to have enough insight into yourself to understand why you value what you do. Understanding the motivations behind your motivations will allow you to stay true to yourself while you grow as an individual.