Several days ago, when I illumined my 26 year old daughter with the truth that “life is just really hard” she barked at me, telling me that I was a real pessimist. I was stunned because, to me, this is one of the most liberating truths that women can have. Why? Here’s what I tried to explain to her.

When we come to accept that we won’t always get the job we want, the husband who satisfies all of our dreams, have the figure that we believe we should have or live in a home which is gorgeous, life gets really good. That seems like an oxymoron, but anyone who has embraced this truth knows exactly what I’m talking about. We women have succumbed to believe that we need perfection in every area of our lives in order to feel satisfied, be genuinely happy or finally feel that peace that we desperately crave.

In my book, The Ten Habits of Happy Mothers, I address this drive of perfectionism which plagues just about every mother I have ever met. Dr. Brene Brown from the University of Houston has done a lot of research on women and happiness and her findings, which…