After I sipped my coffee and chuckled at the initial funny of this picture all I could think was, "Yep. This is so my life." I felt like it was a sign sent to me in the form of a coded message.
It's true...like all of it...even the eye liner. (I mean who REALLY perfects eye liner anyway?)
There is no doubt that winging it is the lane I am walking in right now (maybe running to keep up and some days crawling because it's all I've got). I know I'm not alone in this lane. Winging it is truly where the whole world is right now. Winging it was being a mom/professional/teacher of (insert grades here)/principal/janitor/cook/counselor... at home last spring. Winging it is trying to navigate COVID safety. Winging it is every teacher right now. Winging it is starting anything new. This list could go on and on, but it doesn't change that the problem for me is I am not good at winging it. See I am a perfectionist who needs a plan A and B that both look pretty and prepared so I can glamify the anxiety I feel when I have to do just that. You can imagine what COVID life has done to my psyche. Learning to let myself just wing it because I don't have a choice is a challenge that IS growing me (even if it hurts so good). Despite my struggles I know there are some important takeaways to this piece of truth or coded message...maybe we could call it a modern-day proverb. Okay, maybe it's not that insightful, but these three keys to living life on the edge of winging it are.
The keys to winging it: grace, grit, and focus.
Did I not tell you I had to have a plan? I bet you didn't know I could make something that is meant to be nonchalant so complicated. Baby steps people, baby steps. Coincidentally, these are also the pieces that make winging it such a challenge for me.
- Grace - Let's just say giving myself grace when I am navigating the unknown is way harder than giving anyone else grace. I'm just not as nice to myself. I am working on it. The working just requires a lot of letting go, permission to not be perfect, for my best to be good enough, facing why this even a thing, blah...blah...blah. Literally the definition of WINGING IT! (I know Brene Brown would have plenty of much more insightful words to offer about all of this so I suggest we just tune in to her. Gotta love me some Brene Brown.)
- Grit - No matter the road we choose to take, there is going to be bumps and twists and not so easy to navigate parts. You can't get away from the hard so just pick your hard. What separates the dreamers from the doers is the will to keep working toward the thing you want through those hard parts without letting it break you. It takes grit. It takes surrounding yourself with people who will remind you that you have the grit to keep pushing forward while you are having to wing it.
- Focus - This is where my heart is. Focus is what I know we have to keep a handle on. It's what I am trying to change in every room I speak in. Your focus can change EVERYTHING! As a recovering perfectionist, my heart knows my focus cannot be on perfecting it all. Sometimes our focus needs to be on the real and raw style of just winging it. Okay, that may not be completely true for eye liner. Here's the real deal...sometimes you just have to give yourself the grace to wing it and the grit to keep pushing through until you don't have to. Winging it is surviving and surviving can be looked at as thriving. I am thriving. Flip your focus!
I challenge us all to find peace in winging it
- because you're not alone
- because you're doing better than you think
- because you are thriving
- because at least you're trying.
Just like this post...truly I am just winging it! Cheers to that!
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