“There is nothing known as “Perfect”. Its only those imperfections which we choose not to see!!” — Albert Einstein
For a large portion of my life I considered myself a perfectionist, I got good grades, I was a well behaved kid, I saved my money and I cared way too much about my hair. That last point is about where it all went wrong. You see I didn’t realize that my perfectionism was taking a toll on my inner peace with myself and everything around me. I was so infatuated by what I was doing right, that when I did do something wrong, I only grieved about it. My hair couldn’t be perfect all the time and it would be frustrating, if it wasn’t perfect that day Id wear a hat. I had to have nice clothing and talk cool in order to fit in with the cool kids, If I didn’t Id feel stupid, lame and unworthy. My first few relationships were a complete failure because I could only see what was wrong with the person I was dating, not what was right. and my artistic hobbies were effectively postponed until I could make peace with this battle I was losing.
The fact is imperfection is in all of us, we all have flaws, we all make mistakes. Once we realize that imperfect being and understanding is the human condition there is no shame in being wrong, only in failing to correct our mistakes. The very act of focusing on imperfection pulls us away from our goals and ability to accomplish them or even, being able to set goals at all. This focus can become deeply rooted in your anxiety and can cause stress, depression, and other bad things. (I’m going to write an article in the future about how anxiety and stress can be a good thing). It also stops us from enjoying and appreciating the way things are already and if you can’t do that, you’ll never be happy. I’m not advocating you stop trying to do your very best but rather, stop being overly attached and focused on whats wrong with life. It’s about realizing that while there’s always a better way to do something this doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy and appreciate the way things are. Another good thing to realize is, what is so good about perfect anyways? If everything was perfect where would we go from there? There would be no point to continue, the fact is, there is beauty in the struggle. The adventure is the fun part, not when you reach the top.
The solution here is to catch yourself when you fall into your habit of insisting that things should be other than they are. Gently remind yourself that life is okay the way it is right now. You’ll soon realize that a lot of the problems in your life really aren’t problems, they are great the way they are, just not perfect, and you’ll be able to focus on what really matters. As you begin to eliminate your need for perfection in all areas of your life, you’ll begin to discover the perfection in life itself.
