Day 318 of 365 - Perfection to Peace
In a couple of presentations that I listened to recently, the notion of needing to overcome societal expectations of perfection was addressed. Though these presentations were on quite different topics, it pointed out to me, again, how dominant this expectation of perfection is in our culture.
The impact over time of trying to meet the unrealistic standards promoted by media, in work places and a variety of avenues in life, basically leads to burn out and health problems. For a period of time, maybe several years, we can push ourselves from morning to night, using various types of stimulants to get through our days and then sedatives at night to try to unwind. But, it is not sustainable.
An interesting thing pointed out by one of the speakers was, that these unrealistic standards of performance and success are much more predominant in North America than in European countries, for example. Other cultures value health, family life, and community more. Their expectations reflect that, with practices such as shorter work days or weeks and longer vacation times, among other things.
Because in North American the cultural expectations are constantly reinforced in the media in all its forms, in order to retrain the culture, we need to resist the pressure and allow for more self care. These perfection pressures keep our nervous systems on high alert and wear us out. They drive us to feel we should always be doing more.
By giving ourselves permission to pause, we can interrupt the stress cycle which runs most of our days. Though it takes practice to implement new routines, even small changes can have a significant impact over the day.
One suggestion was, to use reminders on our phones to pause and check in every couple of hours with how we are feeling. This helps us to listen to information from our body. Perhaps we need a healthy snack for some energy, or some water for hydration. Maybe taking a few deep breaths would calm us. Or, maybe moving around or walking a bit would release tense muscles. By taking just a few moments to tune in to ourselves throughout the day, we access the state that helps us shift gears, rest and recover. These brief episodes add up.
Another point made was how helpful it can be to make room for small pleasures throughout the day instead of always putting those impulses off as a reward at the end of the day, on the weekend, or waiting until vacation. Again, it is a process of retraining ourselves to tune in and respond to little signals throughout the day by allowing brief pauses and having curiosity about what might be enjoyable in the moment.
It's like a quiet revolution from within, which gives us more clarity about what we actually need and value, and more permission for self care. That's my kind of revolution. My hope is that younger adults are hearing these kinds of messages before they burn out or develop significant health problems. Cultural change can be slow, but it is possible to transition from perfection to peace as a way of living if we have the will to do so.
The impact over time of trying to meet the unrealistic standards promoted by media, in work places and a variety of avenues in life, basically leads to burn out and health problems. For a period of time, maybe several years, we can push ourselves from morning to night, using various types of stimulants to get through our days and then sedatives at night to try to unwind. But, it is not sustainable.
An interesting thing pointed out by one of the speakers was, that these unrealistic standards of performance and success are much more predominant in North America than in European countries, for example. Other cultures value health, family life, and community more. Their expectations reflect that, with practices such as shorter work days or weeks and longer vacation times, among other things.
Because in North American the cultural expectations are constantly reinforced in the media in all its forms, in order to retrain the culture, we need to resist the pressure and allow for more self care. These perfection pressures keep our nervous systems on high alert and wear us out. They drive us to feel we should always be doing more.
By giving ourselves permission to pause, we can interrupt the stress cycle which runs most of our days. Though it takes practice to implement new routines, even small changes can have a significant impact over the day.
One suggestion was, to use reminders on our phones to pause and check in every couple of hours with how we are feeling. This helps us to listen to information from our body. Perhaps we need a healthy snack for some energy, or some water for hydration. Maybe taking a few deep breaths would calm us. Or, maybe moving around or walking a bit would release tense muscles. By taking just a few moments to tune in to ourselves throughout the day, we access the state that helps us shift gears, rest and recover. These brief episodes add up.
Another point made was how helpful it can be to make room for small pleasures throughout the day instead of always putting those impulses off as a reward at the end of the day, on the weekend, or waiting until vacation. Again, it is a process of retraining ourselves to tune in and respond to little signals throughout the day by allowing brief pauses and having curiosity about what might be enjoyable in the moment.
It's like a quiet revolution from within, which gives us more clarity about what we actually need and value, and more permission for self care. That's my kind of revolution. My hope is that younger adults are hearing these kinds of messages before they burn out or develop significant health problems. Cultural change can be slow, but it is possible to transition from perfection to peace as a way of living if we have the will to do so.
Comments
Post a Comment