Not Perfect. Not Personal. Not Permanent.

I wish someone had shared this mantra with me years before I saw it on Instagram. (Credit to @tonitalkstherapy)

Parenting is hard- especially for those who always wanted good grades and are people pleasers.

Not perfect.

Not personal.

Not permanent.

Six simple words I can hold onto when life feels difficult.

Postpartum depression- not perfect.

Postpartum depression- not personal.

Postpartum depression- not permanent.

I was thrilled to have this darling baby join our family, but it was impossible to parent perfectly. That crying fit? It wasn’t personal. It didn’t last forever.

Marriage? Not perfect (and let’s be honest- no one’s is.) Strained? Yes, but it wasn’t personal. And that strain is because of this new season of life? Not permanent.

The painful breasts when the milk came in? Definitely not ideal, absolutely not personal, and the discomfort eased in time.

The exhaustion from being up with a colicky baby? There’s not just one way to deal with it; he certainly didn’t do it to make my life more difficult. At the time, it seemed it would last forever… but it didn’t.

Mantras can help us stay focused and centered, which can be particularly helpful when a new baby, crisis, or other life stressor has upended our lives.