Progress Over Perfection

By Leah Berdysz, MSSA, LSW

I am an Empowered & Poised Female because I am brave enough to follow my dreams. The life of an entrepreneur is never easy, especially being a twenty-two year old recent college graduate. I have never been great at letting go as I am a perfectionist, and need to manage my anxiety, almost on a daily basis. I have constantly struggled with forgiving myself for getting a bad grade, which to most people would not even be considered unacceptable. This type of thinking has also trickled down into other areas of my life. Eating too many treats, which at times means more than none, and obsessing over things that do not truly matter like how flat my stomach is at any given point in a day have been struggles in life. So, it is safe to say that starting a business has presented quite a few challenges for me. I am learning it is okay to let go of the need to be perfect all the time. There are still days I get nervous about looking “dumb” and have my amazing boyfriend edit a two sentence email to settle my fears, but I am slowly beginning to trust myself and my abilities. I am starting to realize that if I make a mistake it is okay because I am human and I am imperfect, just like everyone else. I now understand that it is better to DO SOMETHING and learn than be afraid of failure and do nothing at all.

My passion for working with young girls and supporting women is what will make this tough journey as a young female business owner worthwhile. On the days that I struggle, I remember that I too am empowered & poised. I am courageous, strong, and driven because there is a world that is much bigger than me in need of positivity and acceptance. I am living in a world where I know I am not the only woman that seems confident, but breaks down crying some nights trying to love herself. I am empowered & poised and will no longer allow my fears to tell me I am incapable of becoming a success. For so long I was scared to begin this journey, not having the ability to plan every little detail. Today I stand boldly and beautifully knowing that I will be a success if I can touch the heart of just one female. Because ultimately, making the difference in even one girl’s life is enough for me to know I am living out my greater purpose. It will allow me to sleep at night knowing one less girl will have to deal with feeling that she constantly has to measure up to society’s standards of “perfection”.

I am an empowered & poised female because I am learning to set aside my fears and trust the process. I am an empowered & poised female because I am brave enough to follow my dreams. I am an empowered & poised female because I am brave enough to become naked to the world and share my raw stories and struggles so that other females can begin to heal and know that they are not alone.

You are not alone.

Because I am an empowered & poised female I am confident that “I am not perfect like you, I am perfect like me.”