Present Over Perfect

I was very, very tired. Not just sleepy-tired. I was tired in my bones. I was busy all the time, but I felt empty. 

I read Present Over Perfect because I needed help. From the first page, I felt calm. The writer, Shauna, felt like a friend telling me her story over a cup of coffee. She talked about being busy trying to be perfect for everyone. She got lost. This book is about how she found her way back to a simpler, truer life.

This book didn't give me a strict plan. It gave me permission, permission to stop, to breathe, and to choose what really matters.

If you feel like you are always running but never arriving, this book is for you. It won't fix your life, but it will help you see it differently. It opens a door to a quieter, kinder way of living.

Key Lessons from Present Over Perfect:

1. Busyness is a Shield, Not a Medal.

We wear overwhelm as a badge of importance, but it often protects us from the quiet questions we’re afraid to answer: Who am I when I stop doing? What do I really want?

2. Rest is a Requirement, Not a Reward.

You do not earn the right to pause by crossing everything off the list. You are human, not a machine; rest is part of your operating system, not a prize for outrunning your limits.

3. Perfection is the Enemy of Intimacy.

The more she curated a flawless image, the more isolated she became from others, from God, and from her own messy, beautiful heart.

4. “No” is a Complete Sentence and a Sacred Boundary.

Every “yes” is a “no” to something else, often your own peace or priorities. Protecting your energy isn’t selfish; it’s stewardship.

5. Presence is a Muscle, Not a Mood.

You don’t feel your way into being present. You practice your way in through deliberate pauses, eye contact, and listening without mentally drafting your reply.

6. Love Can’t Be Rushed.

The deepest connections, with family, with self, with the divine, grow in the unhurried, unattended spaces we routinely sacrifice on the altar of efficiency.

7. You Can Change Everything Without Burning It All Down.

Transformation isn’t always a grand exit. Often, it’s a quiet series of internal resignations from roles, expectations, and the compulsion to be the emotional engine for everyone.

8. Your Worth is Inherent, Not Instrumental.

The core revelation: You are beloved for who you are, not for what you produce or manage. Your value is not a variable in an equation of utility.