{"id":5451,"date":"2025-09-17T14:29:39","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T08:59:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ksrini.life\/29035f-co-nz\/journal\/?p=5451"},"modified":"2025-09-17T14:29:39","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T08:59:39","slug":"peace-with-imperfection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ksrini.life\/29035f-co-nz\/journal\/peace-with-imperfection\/5451\/","title":{"rendered":"Peace with Imperfection"},"content":{"rendered":"

In today’s society, the idea of perfection has immense power over all of us. It guides our beauty standards, lifestyles and, most of all, our mental health. The pressure to appear perfect is corrosive to happiness. John Kelly, a Penn Medicine physician, wrote, \u201cCreativity, joy, inspiration, and even productivity is stunted when perfection is the only option.\u201d This mindset causes perfectionists to be more at risk for developing a host of negative outcomes. This idea is seen in a study conducted by King\u2019s College London\u2019s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, finding that perfectionism is involved in the \u201cdevelopment and maintenance of a range of disorders including depression, anxiety, EDs and body dysmorphic disorder, \u00a0(Lloyd et al., 2014).<\/p>\n

Perfectionism arises from insecurity and low self-esteem. It often tricks us into believing that it’s a helpful tool when in reality, it can cause us to feel more depressed and anxious. Bren\u00e9 Brown, author and research professor at the University of Houston, wrote, \u201cPerfectionism is the belief that if we live perfect, look perfect and act perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgment, and shame. It\u2019s a shield.\u201d Perfectionists are more likely to suffer from life paralysis, a term that describes the avoidance of opportunities in which the result might be imperfect. Kelly and Brown both admit to being recovering perfectionists themselves. This observation serves to remind us that anyone can struggle with these feelings of insecurity and fear.<\/p>\n

As a perfectionist, I have always struggled with insecurity surrounding my interpersonal relationships. In the past, I would have done anything to be perfect for anybody rather than be my true authentic self. Akin to what Brown said, I would have rather wasted my time and energy on trying to force the perception that \u201cI live perfect, look perfect, and act perfect\u201d for everyone in my life, rather than face the fact that I am not perfect. This mindset caused me to struggle with my self-worth as I continued to attempt the impossible task of achieving perfection. Kelly describes this feeling by explaining that perfectionists often believe that any error is a reflection of a perfectionist’s defectiveness (Kelly, 2015).<\/p>\n

So, how do we change our thinking? Kristin Neff, an associate professor in the University of Texas at Austin\u2019s Department of Educational Psychology, presents research on self-compassion as a way to make peace with imperfection. Self-compassion is the practice of self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness.<\/p>\n