We live in a world where anything less than perfection is unacceptable. We cake on makeup because the beauty we've been given just isn't enough. We sacrifice countless nights' sleep to study for tests, even though we already have a 98 in that class, because that 98 just isn't enough. We starve ourselves to lose just "one more pound," but that one pound just isn't enough. We pretend to be someone we're not because who we really are just isn't enough.

We push ourselves past our breaking points because, to ourselves and to the world, we will never be enough.

People think that setting these ridiculously high expectations will push you to work harder, and it will, but at the same time, it will lower your self-esteem. It will make you feel like a failure because you know that you'll never be this perfect person who people want you to be, and you'll always be a letdown. Trying to meet people's unrealistic expectations feels like trying to swim in the ocean, during a storm, with bricks tied to your feet; it feels like no matter how hard you try, you'll always fall short, and the truth is that, sometimes, you will.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23

Everyone falls short; it's just human nature. We fall short of our own expectations, our friends' expectations, our family's expectations, and even God's expectations. When we fail to meet these, we feel like a disappointment to everybody, but to God, we will never be a disappointment. God knows that we'll fall short. He knows that sometimes we'll try our hardest, but we still won't succeed. He knows that we're not perfect, and we're going to make mistakes, but He wants us and loves us regardless.

God wants all of us, our good and our bad, because all of us with all of Him, is more than enough.

"But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, and in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

We shouldn't try to be perfect because our God works best in our imperfections and will always be there to help us thrive because of them, so we shouldn't get upset when we fail to meet the world's expectations because every time we fall short, God makes us stronger. God only asks that we do everything as best as we can in a way that glorifies Him. So stop, take a deep breath, and stop trying so hard to please others because meeting people's expectations isn't important; doing everything whole-heartedly, to the best of our abilities for a God who exceeds every expectation is.