Perfection in Imperfection

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Posted: December 4, 2016

If you are blessed today to have people in your life whom you love, you have then experienced the phenomenon of perfection in imperfection. As humans, they are less than perfect, yet you love them nonetheless. You don't ignore their faults or gloss over mistakes they have made. You remain in appreciation and gratitude for all the parts of them that make them whole. You have most likely marveled in their evolution that brought them to where they are today.

Hypocrite, Who Me?

Probably. I'm taking a big leap here by assuming that how you view your loved ones is probably more loving than how you choose to view yourself. You are your own worst critic. But you know that.

The First Time is Never the Charm

Name one thing you think you do well.

You make a darn good Martini or grow beautiful roses.
You play a mean game of poker or have perfected a wicked backhand on the tennis court.
You are a wiz at balancing that checkbook or have a great knack at putting together a bouquet of flowers.

You didn't just wake up to do that one thing, perfectly. You mastered it. You practiced it - repeatedly, and failed at it - repeatedly.

Perfectionism takes the willingness to fail.

The Imperfect Idea of Perfectionism

The idea of what perfection is doesn't exist, safe to say, the way you imagine perfection looks like. No one does one think perfectly all the time, every time. Between the environmental stressors, variables with the tools we are working with, emotional stressors we are going through, or the eclipse of the moon, these all impact what we do every time we do it, and the outcome. There is no such thing as the perfect anything. The variations on the theme are so subtle, even our naked eye can't detect the subtle differences.

What Do You Make Perfection Mean?

What is your definition of perfection? Are you ready to create a new definition for yourself?

Knowing that your thoughts are optional and you get to choose to think your thoughts, what do you choose to make perfection mean to you, for you? In knowing that perfection means the willingness to fail at something until you master it and ready to then evolve with the task, again, aren't you then good enough where you are with yourself today? Could perfection be something you are always evolving toward and therefore never really failing to achieve?

I would love to hear your thoughts.