When I hear the phrase “choose progress over perfection,” I’ll be honest with you… that one is tough for me.

I have always wanted everything to be perfect. And I mean everything.

Take these blogs for example. You probably wouldn’t believe how many times I reread them before I finally hit publish. I’ll change a word, then a sentence, then read the whole thing again. Sometimes I fix things that probably didn’t even need fixing in the first place.

And that perfection mindset doesn’t stop with writing. It sneaks into other parts of my life too.

The truth is, I don’t even know where it started. Somewhere along the way my brain just learned that things needed to be perfect. But lately I’ve been realizing something important.

Progress matters more.

Not whether my hair is perfect.
Not whether every dish is washed.
Not whether everything looks exactly right.

What matters is that I’m still moving forward.

And I’ll tell you something else honestly. There have been many times in my life when waiting for something to be perfect actually kept me stuck.

I can get so focused on trying to perfect one tiny thing that I lose sight of everything else. Sometimes I even lose sight of the original goal completely. Instead of moving forward, I’m stuck polishing something that probably didn’t need polishing in the first place.

Not long ago I had a moment that reminded me just how important progress really is.

Some very recent trauma hit me like a ton of bricks. When trauma shows up, my OCD brain kicks into high gear. Suddenly everything needs control, and perfection becomes the thing my mind tries to grab onto.

But something different happened this time.

Within a few hours I managed to pull myself together enough to function. Not perfectly. Not neatly. But enough to keep moving through what I needed to do.

I just kept going until the next day when I had my scheduled appointment with my counselor.

To some people that might not sound like a big deal. But for people living with trauma, grief, anxiety, or mental health struggles, those moments matter more than you might realize.

Sometimes progress simply means getting through the day.

And I think a lot of people underestimate the power of those small steps forward.

If someone has never lived with trauma or grief, it can be hard to understand how meaningful those little steps can be. But the truth is, small steps matter for everyone.

They deserve to be noticed.

They deserve to be celebrated.

In my experience, progress doesn’t always happen in big dramatic moments. Sometimes it does, but most of the time it shows up quietly in everyday choices.

I like to think of those moments as little lightbulbs turning on.

One realization.
One small shift in thinking.
One decision that moves you just a little bit forward.

Over time, those small moments add up to real change.

Just like a seed doesn’t become a tree overnight, we don’t grow overnight either. Growth takes time. Healing takes time. Becoming stronger takes time.

I’ll also admit something else. I can be really hard on myself.

If something isn’t perfect, my brain notices right away. But I’m learning not to stay stuck in that moment. Instead of sitting in that frustration, I try to move forward or sometimes just step away for a while.

Because progress is still progress, no matter how slow it feels.

This is something I’ve only really started realizing recently. And even now, I’m still learning it.

Perfection has been wired into me for a long time, so it’s going to take time to untangle that thinking.

Social media doesn’t make it any easier either.

Years ago the pressure to be perfect came from magazine covers and television. Now it’s everywhere. We scroll past endless pictures of people who appear to have perfect homes, perfect routines, and perfect lives.

But the truth is, most of what we see online is just a highlight reel.

Lately I’ve been trying to lean into something different. I’m trying to show up as the real version of me. Not perfect, just real.

Progress in my life right now might not look very dramatic to someone else. Old trauma has been resurfacing and that can make everyday life feel heavier than usual.

So I’m focusing on what I can control. Writing my blogs. Showing up online. Working toward getting comfortable doing lives again. Some days that feels easier than others.

And that’s okay.

Because right now, progress simply looks like continuing to move forward.

My perspective on mistakes is also changing a little bit. Some mistakes still bother me. If there’s a spelling or grammar error, I’m probably going to fix it.

But if one hair is out of place?

That’s okay.

I’m learning that mistakes are part of being human. And humans are allowed to be imperfect.

If someone asked me what I would say to a person who is afraid to try something because they might fail, I would tell them this:

You’ll never know what’s possible if you never try.

Just start small.

Take baby steps and keep moving forward.

Because at the end of the day, progress matters more than perfection.

Nobody is perfect.

And if you ever doubt that, scroll through social media long enough and you’ll eventually spot a typo or a spelling mistake in someone’s “perfect” post.

The world keeps spinning anyway.

Maybe perfection was never the goal.

Maybe moving forward was.

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So now I’m curious about you.

Do you ever catch yourself waiting for things to be perfect before you start something?
Have you ever realized later that the messy step you took was actually progress?

I’d really love to hear your thoughts.

Share them in the comments and join the conversation.

And if this post resonated with you, please consider sharing it with someone who might need this reminder today. Sometimes the smallest message can make a big difference in someone else’s day.

Thank you for being here and being part of this community.

— Shelly