This week marks the 4th anniversary of Zoë’s Healthy Life. I started this food blog when I was 16. I’m 20 now, and in this series, I’m sharing the four life lessons I’ve learned over the past four years of blogging. This is lesson 3. 

It doesn't have to be perfect; as long as it exists, it can get better

Setting the bar high when it comes to your mission and vision is great; otherwise, you won’t get anywhere interesting. As a short-term goal, it has often helped me to simply resolve to do the best I can right now, with the time and resources I have at this very moment. The barriers come crashing down, and suddenly opportunities appear everywhere where there were previously only excuses.

The goal isn't to achieve perfection. My goal is to create something valuable. 

Always do your best, but allow yourself to make progress. It’s much more efficient to just get started and make adjustments as needed than to imagine a course of action in your head and come up with all the corresponding disaster plans and worst-case scenarios. By just going for it, you’ll discover that things might not turn out as bad as you think. A positive outcome is also a possibility. And above all, many small steps in the right direction are definitely better than standing still. Because you are making progress, you’re learning, you’re growing, you’re persevering, and you’re keeping your goal in sight. That’s what it’s all about. 

The pursuit of perfection arises when you try to find satisfaction and validation in the outside world. Because you’re afraid you’re not good enough, you want to blow everyone away with perfection. You want others to confirm that you’re on the right track because you’re insecure and constantly doubt yourself. Your lack of self-worth feels like a void inside you, and you try to fill it from the outside. The problem is that you can only resolve this from within. Self-worth is what you believe you’re worth, not what the outside world says. 

Mistakes are proof that you keep fighting

When you stop putting on a facade and start being who you really are, you can truly grow. There’s so much value in being able to look at yourself and, without resistance or denial, recognize what can still be improved and work on it. That’s when you truly grow. Learn from your mistakes instead of trying to hide them. Making mistakes is part of the process of becoming really good at something. It doesn’t make you special—everyone still has room to grow. In some areas perhaps more than others, but even someone you consider perfect in a certain field can improve. Everything evolves. Always. 

Mistakes also don’t indicate whether someone is stupid or talented. Everysecond is a snapshot of what you do or don’t have a handle on right now. It’s an opportunity you can gratefully embrace, because if you notice this signal and act on it, you’ll improve. 

As long as it's real, you'll always touch someone

I’d also like to share with you the “good enough is okay” principle, which I applied myself when filming the recipe videos. You see, I’m the kind of person who sets the bar high, is stubborn, and won’t settle forlessif I’m convinced there’smorepotential. When I do something, I want to do it right the first time. My definition of “good enough” ranges from “flawless” to “the best I can do right now.” That’s where the pitfall lies, because I often set my expectations far higher than what’s practically achievable, and that can sometimes be paralyzing. 

What helps me then is focusing on the goal: recording recipe videos so that you, the reader, can make the recipes more easily and quickly, and so that everything is completely clear. I want to make videos that are valuable in terms of content. The goal isn’t to show how well I can cook, that my hair always looks perfect, or that I’m a great explainer. If you listen even a little, you might even hear that I’m from Antwerp, no matter how hard I’ve tried to speak elegantly. That doesn’t mean I haven’t achieved my goal. It’s primarily about the value I share and not so much about me. That way, a video that, by my standards, only scores “good enough” can still be valuable in helping at least one person grapple with the existential question that has preoccupied humanity for centuries: “What are we cooking tonight?” 

At this very moment, all you can do is your best

It might feel uncomfortable at first, but the more you practice it, the more you’ll be able to accept “good enough.” The more you can trust that what you’re capable of right now is exactly what someone else needs to hear at this moment. The more you trust that and keep going, the better you’ll ultimately become. ❤️

P.S. Four years ago, I did a photo shoot to have some pictures of myself when I launched my blog. I’ve tried to recreate that photo shoot. Every day this week through August 1, I’ll share one of these photos along with a life lesson I’ve learned through this project.