46. Choose Convenience Over Perfection: A Lesson from My Red Hair

Hey doc! In this special Christmas episode of ✨Stethoscopes and Strollers✨, I share how my unexpected red hair taught me a valuable lesson about letting go of perfect - a message especially relevant during the holiday season.

We explore:

• Making peace with imperfect solutions
• Choosing convenience over expectations
• Finding joy in unexpected outcomes
• Prioritizing peace during busy times

Key takeaways:

• Perfect plans often lead to unnecessary stress
• Sometimes the "wrong" choice brings more peace
• Small compromises create space for joy
• Self-preservation matters more than perfection

Doc, this holiday season, remember that perfect isn't always better than peaceful. Your happiness matters more than meeting every expectation.

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Transcript

Hey doc, I have red hair today. If you're watching on YouTube, it's like red hair don't care. But except I do care because I hate it and  I want to talk about that because it was a sacrifice that I chose and it may seem like a silly one but I think it is important to talk about. So the story I  I really just don't want to put any energy into doing my hair.

My hair is natural. For those who don't know what that means, there's no relaxer, there's no product. It's just how it is growing out of my head. And I absolutely love it, but I have not had my hair. out in its natural state for like, well, 15 years. The last time I had to comb my hair naturally, I was in high school and it was a lot then and I had, um, locks and that made my hair very easy to deal with for 15 years.

And then I left Kaiser and cut my hair off. And here we are. So now it's in its full, thick, beautiful glory, which is also a lot to deal with, which is why I have braids in, so extensions. And I had braids that I loved for the last month or so when I was traveling. And it was just so easy that I was like, okay, let me just, let me just braid my hair again.

And also the type of braids that I had,  it reminded me of when I had my locks. So it was a little bit nostalgic and I was like, Oh my gosh, I want to lock my hair again. And it was, you know, so I was like, let me just do it  Give myself a little bit of a break because this next month and a half of a lot going on before we travel for the holidays.

So I was like, fine, I'm just going to braid my hair again. And I thought that I had enough hair to do that. But in fact, I did not. And I got all the way to the braider with one pack of hair when I needed six. So I had to leave her salon. Go to another store because she didn't have the type of hair that I needed.

And all they had was red. And I looked at it and I had to make a decision. Because I knew I did not want this color hair, I knew I didn't want any other type of hair. Another reason that I chose this type was because I didn't want my hair blow dried. The last person that blow dried my hair to braid it  severely damaged my hair, and the texture has never been the same.

The last time this happened to me was the very first time I pressed my hair when I was in school. Primary school  and change my curl pattern and all of that. So I've been on a journey to repair my hair So I'm not going to then blow dry it again and redamage it So I needed this type of hair that was more natural that reminded me of my locks.

So the choices were limited  So  I had to say well  What is the sacrifice I'm willing to make?  Do I say  that You Yeah, okay, I'll deal with hair that's unappealing, that I don't like, that I know my husband won't like. For the greater benefit of not having to comb my hair for a month or so.  Or do I stick to the perfect vision that I have in my head  of this certain type of hair and possibly go home and order the right type and have to come back half an hour away to do my hair, whenever she was actually available, rearrange my schedule for the next couple of days, assuming that she even had an opening.

And then I still had to deal with the, the hair that was not combed that was on my head currently.  So, I decided that I was going to have to make a sacrifice anyway.  This was a lose lose situation  

but when you take a step back,  is sticking to that perfect vision really worth all of the extra headache? When I think about all the things I would have had to do if I had left without this red hair,  I was going to come out way below. so yes, I had a specific idea that made sense for me, that was right for me, that would meet all of my expectations,  but that was not happening.

Like there was literally nothing I could do about it at the time. So  I chose to make the best of what I had, which is Red hair, which by the way, I've gotten a lot of compliments about from different people. So  it's, it doesn't matter if what you're considering is a big deal to anybody else.

And that's another reason I'm using this hair as an example.  It only matters to you.  And since it only matters to you, you know, make the decision that's going to make your life easier.  Get the red hair Because at the end of the day,  I'm not even going to be thinking about the fact that this hair is red. I am going to be so happy that I don't have to spend  hours  twisting and washing and  untwisting    I came out on top and really, I can just take it out whenever I feel like it.

But I'm probably not going to because it's convenient.  It's just red.  So I choose convenience. I choose ease. I choose me and my happiness and my peace instead of the perfect vision that I had in my head of my hair. So I want you to think, what can you choose  to make your life easier, even if it isn't a perfect situation? 

Even if it's like, well, these are all the reasons that I need it to be this way.  Are you going to throw the baby out with your bathwater and say, well, I can't have it like that. So I'm just,  I'm just not gonna, I'm not going to bother.  I could have said that. It was like, well, I can't have my braids exactly.

So I'm just not going to bother. But then I would have been left to deal with the consequences. Take the easy way out. Sometimes take the convenient way. It's just for a little bit.  It doesn't have to be forever.  It just has to be enough to get you through until you can make the situation right and get what you're actually.

want.  All these little things are just self preservation, survival tips,  right? So sometimes we just need survival until we can get to the thriving. And that's how I want you to think about this. So yes, red hair. I do care  a little bit, but I still look cute. All right. So  if you found this helpful, let me know.

Send me a little message on the podcast thing. Send me a DM, send me an email. I want to know.  If this made sense to you, if you were like, this was a really dumb episode, I don't know, let me know.  Hopefully you're not going to say that and this was actually helpful and if it was, make sure you share it with another physician mom who can use this message.

And who maybe wants to have red hair, who knows. And leave a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts, a 5 star rating everywhere else. And I will see you on the next episode of Stethoscopes and Strollers.