Does it Fit?

Let's say one afternoon I am at a Macy's or similar type clothes store in search of a new dress shirt. I know I already have a bunch of shirts at home, but most of my shirts are getting a bit small for me or are not really my style anymore. Let's throw in the extra incentive that I've got a Friday night date night with a pretty lady coming up, so I wouldn't mind looking sharp. Anyways, I go to the Men's aisle, spend a few minutes searching, and then grab five dress shirts off their hangers of different brands, styles that I like, and sizes. Obviously I am not planning on spending a ton of money and I do not need to buy five shirts either, I just need one for now.

So off I go into the dressing room. I throw the first shirt on. How does it fit? Do I dig the color/pattern? Is it too casual or too formal? Then I try shirt #2 on, and sub-consciously ask myself the same questions. Then shirt #3, $4, and finally $5. I quickly throw three of the shirts into the "reject" pile, and try the remaining two shirts out again. I may go back to the shirt section of the store and swap out one of the shirts for a different size and see if it fits better. It does. The fourth shirt goes into the "reject" pile and the last remaining shirt ends up a winner. I go home with a new shirt, it fits well, I'm digging the style, and hope it will give me a little confidence boost on Friday night!

Recently life seems to compare to a gigantic dressing room of trying dress shirts out at a department store; seeing what fits and what doesn't fit. How could I have found the perfect shirt if I hadn't tried out a few others first? Had I bought the first shirt I found, I would have probably been a bit bummed out when I got home and pulled it out of the bag. It probably wouldn't have fit, not been my style, or not my favorite color.

In other words life is all about trying things out to see what fits and what doesn't fit. It's kind of like throwing pasta at a wall and seeing what sticks and what doesn't. None of us are perfect. We need trial and error in our life before we find something that works. We can't be so hard on ourselves when the first few things we try do not work/fit. That it be to for finding that ideal job, that balanced lifestyle, those healthy habits, the hobbies that really make us come alive, or the compatible friends or significant other that we really connect with. We need to try out those different dress shirts, before finding the one(s) that fit and that we are satisfied with.

“I am always doing things I can't do, that's how I get to do them.”- Pablo Picasso