There are very few parallels between Dutch women & American women. Less than 10% of Dutch women are employed full-time, while about 75% of American women are. Dutch women get to formulate strong relationships with their children & spouses, while American women work. Dutch women get to cultivate hobbies & interests, while American women spend what little free time they have running a family. Dutch women have a sense of personal freedom & good work/life balance, while American women are slaves to their jobs & family. Dutch women are increasingly happy, while American women are increasingly not.
I'm painting quite an unpleasant picture right now, aren't I?
Jessica Olien's article, "Going Dutch," explores the different realms between life for Dutch women & life for American women. One of her conclusions is that American women try too hard to be perfect & in turn, are sacrificing their happiness.
Blogger Meet Miss Jones took a deeper look at this idea of perfection & came up with some valid points & a few others that I don't entirely agree with, but in the end, offers some great advice:
- Set goals that are manageable.
- To attempt, even if I don't attain.
- To do what is good, what I can -- even if it isn't perfect.
- To stop letting perfect get in the way of good
Those are reasonable requests, don't you think? I think my main take away is that I need to not be afraid of trying something new just because I won't be perfect at it. Maybe it's finally time to cash in my Bar Method Groupon ...or move to the Netherlands!
(via)
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