Book Review: Present over Perfect

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“How we live matters, and what you choose to own will shape your life, whether you choose to admit it or not. Let's live lightly, freely, courageously, surrounded only by what brings joy, simplicity, and beauty.”

I think I have found my favorite book of 2019. I have long been a fan of Shauna's writing and when I started hearing good things about her book, Present over Perfect, I knew I had to read it.

This book is so, so good. I honestly don't have the words to describe all my thoughts. Shauna shares about how she is/was a type A, overachiever that realized she wasn't enjoying life. That somehow, in the midst of all her success, she was failing to live the life she wanted to.

“Present is living with your feet firmly grounded in reality, pale and uncertain as it may seem. Present is choosing to believe that your own life is worth investing deeply in, instead of waiting for some rare miracle or fairytale. Present means we understand that the here and now is sacred, sacramental, threaded through with divinity even in its plainness. Especially in its plainness.”

In this book, Shauna shares how she stepped back and evaluated what she really wanted to get out of life, and then what she needed to remove to live the life she wanted to.

So much in this book I can relate to. In fact, I think many mothers can. As moms (and dads), our days and lives get really busy, and with there always something to be done. It's easy to miss the little things in life when taking care of all the needs.

I know for me this really resonated. I tend to not relax, even when I should be relaxing. If I have free time, it's always taking care of something, or sitting down to answer one more email, or write one more article. A "lazy" afternoon is spent washing dishes and folding laundry.

“I don't want to get to the end of my life and look back and realize that the best thing about me was I was organized.”

So, after reading this book, I've decided that, like Shauna, I too need to change something. I'm going to start cutting out things in order to make more time for the things that I want to enjoy. Living the life that I want to really LIVE.

I'm not sure what that looks like at the moment, maybe it's less blogging, more reading, less cleaning, and more adventures. Whatever it is, my goal for 2020 is to find it out.

All that said, this book is so good, and I highly recommend it. Please read it, and if you have already, let me know your thoughts about it. I'd love to hear them!