You don’t HAVE to have EVERYTHING to have it ALL!!!

Do you ever look at social media and think…IF I ONLY HAD WHAT THEY HAVE…or…IF I COULD ONLY AFFORD THAT…or…UGHH WHY DO I EVEN TRY??

We live in a fantastic time in history where we can see it ALL, do it ALL, and HAVE it ALL…but guess what??? We do not NEED it all!!! Let me ruin the ending for you. If you buy that “BLANK” that you saw your insta crush share this morning, it will NOT make you happier. If you eat the EXACT snack topped with protein powder and peanutbutter that your insta nutritionist chowed on yesterday, it will not give you abs. And if you have to go into debt to feel like you are SOMETHING special…trust me…it will NOT make you feel like that ripped tanned insta model splashing in the waves of Malta with her picture perfect kids. And do you KNOW how I KNOW??? Because I too fall into the social media trap occasionally and it is NOT pretty!!

I get messages day in and day out asking how I DO IT ALL. EHEM…guess what??? I DON’T!! Not by a long shot. Sometimes I Netflix veg on the sofa with a big bowl of popcorn and ignore the Titanic-like disaster that is my home. Sometimes I post pictures of my super clean kitchen while my dirty dishes are LITERALLY stacked on the top of my washing machine. And sometimes I discover that my 8 year old has not worn underpants in over 2 months. Life is messy…despite what it shows on social media. I honestly feel horrible that ANYBODY thinks ANYBODY does it all. Nobody does!! This is real life, where people have soccer games, church meetings, dance class, homework, book club, science fair, and a conference call ALL on Tuesday night…AFTER working all day. It is just NOT realistic to think that ANYBODY has it all together…not even Carol from the PTO. If Carol says she does it all…she lies…just sayin’.

It is SOOOOO easy to fall into the comparing game when we only see the highlight reel of those around us. It seems that everyone has the biggest house, the nicest car, the prettiest kids, the sweetest puppy, the most romantic date night, the yummiest dinner, the most thoughtful husband, the best body…or even the greatest oven for gosh sakes. Did you know that before Pinterest I didn’t even realize there WERE other kinds of ovens???? I was perfectly happy making tacos on my cook top in my yoga pants. Then all of the sudden I was like…wait a minute…Carol has 7 burners on her stove. I bet that is why she can bake a 3 tiered cake every Thursday night before she teaches her BodyPump class…in heels. Well I just cannot compete with my REGULAR crappy old oven…that is only 3 months old and cost a small fortune. Poor me…

It took me a while, but I finally realized something life changing. My worth is NOT at ALL dependent on the THINGS that I have. My happiness is NOT at ALL dependent on the the THINGS that I have. The THINGS that I have do not complete me. I do not need EVERYTHING to have it ALL. I cannot DO it all. I cannot BE it all. But I sure as shiz can BE enough. Because guess what Carol??? My kids like my basic cook top Tuesday night tacos. I do not have EVERYTHING I see on social media, but I do have ALL that I really need. I have two amazing kiddos and I get the chance to be their mom. NOT a pinterest mom…or a perfect insta-mom, but a REAL mom. The mom who has to explain that it is NOT ok to go underpants-less. The mom who stays up late folding laundry that has now been washed 3 times because she forgot to put it into the dryer. The mom who looks like she got hit by a bus in the morning, but still manages to get everyone dressed, underpants and all, and on the bus with backpacks, and homework, and lunches, and fieldtrip forms, and a box of goldfishes to share at snack time. In a world where everyone wants to be a Kardashian, let’s make NORMAL the new AWESOME. Let’s make THEM want to be like US because THEY want what WE have. Let’s take a look at what we DO have and stop focusing on what Carol has. Because let’s face it…We don’t even LIKE Carol!!!

My goal this last year was to spend less on STUFF, and spend more on experiences. It was hard. I like stuff…A LOT!!! My job is LITERALLY to create a home that people want to emulate. BUT here is the thing…I did not NEED to buy new stuff for my home. I have more home decor than I will EVER use. Did I WANT more decorative pumpkins and a 4th Christmas tree and golden-doodle to pose strategically with my new couch. Darn tootin!! Would my Instagram have grown more this year if I had a couch matching doodle next to an 18 foot blue spruce with twinkle lights…probably. Would I have been happier??? NO WAY. The world WANTS us to want more stuff. They NEED us to constantly desire MORE and BETTER and BIGGER. Just in the past week my social media has been PACKED with Prime day deals, the Nordstrom Sale, and back to school. I watched people I do not know try on clothes that I cannot afford and then I felt bad about it. But a funny thing happened. My little crew took an impromptu trip into the mountains to look at some property and RIGHT in the middle of PRIME day, I found myself without cell service standing next to the most beautiful river I have EVER seen skipping rocks with my kiddos. Not once did I find myself caring that I wasn’t getting $10 off of an instant pot. I did not feel one moment of grief for the day that ZERO Amazon boxes would arrive on my doorstep. It hit me very hard. I do not NEED everything to have it ALL. And if I can continue to ignore those things that I do not NEED now, maybe someday I can stand on land that I OWN by that beautiful river and skip rocks. And maybe if I have MORE days with zero boxes on my doorstep now, then someday I can “insert dream here”.

It is hard. It is SOOOO hard. We want EVERYTHING. But maybe we need to stop wanting EVERYTHING and want IT ALL!! Because we do not need EVERYTHING to have it ALL. In fact, if we can do with out a little bit of EVERYTHING for a little bit, we have a MUCH better chance of someday having IT ALL.