A Thought On the Imperfection of Perfection
In our quest to be perfect – to be the ultimate husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, employees and employers…
We make ourselves CRAZY.
Think about this. Perfect is an imperfect state of being. If we were all perfect, this world would be so boring and uninteresting. And who would want that? And who defines what perfect is? I mean, after all, what is perfect hair or teeth or a perfect post, for that matter? If we had the perfect car, who would bother to make a newer one? This could apply to everything. Perfect ice cream means no more attempts at things that are different. A perfect date means losing the chance of trying new things. If you look back on the history of major historical discoveries, they occurred when something went wrong, and wa-laaa, something interesting and unique happened that led to a great finding.
We may want to rethink the whole “perfect thing.” Instead of striving to be perfect, let’s strive to be the best we can be or the most creative or the kindest or the most thoughtful we can be, whatever role we are playing. And let’s relish that which makes us interesting – our foibles, our imperfections.
Coming full circle brings us here. What’s the goal? To be our perfectly imperfect selves.
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Perfect is such a low standard to shoot for. Think about bowling. The best you can do is a “perfect game” of 300. You can’t do any better than perfect. Why shoot for such a boring standard.
To steal a book title from Seth Godin – “Stop Trying to be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable”.
Jack,
Great comment! I agree wholeheartedly…
Sarah
I think it comes with age and wisdom.
In some ways I disagree Sarah. For example, the perfect date is not always going to be perfect at other times, like having a picnic at the beach in winter, or being at a cooking class in the height of summer.
It may be a perfect recollection (aren’t they all? Let’s not listen to the experts on how our memories change regarding context…) but it won’t necessarily be perfect.
The striving for perfection makes us all a little unhappy I think. We don’t have the perfect jobs or relationships or homes… But why can’t we be a little content with that which we have? I don’t think stagnation is the answer, but why not be thankful for the partner who supports and loves you but is hopeless about taking the rubbish out?
I agree to the comment of Jack Foley. What he said is all so true. And what I love his comment is the quote, “Stop Trying to be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable”. That is the most amazing quote I ever heard.
Very nice article, thanks! I’ve subscribed to your RSS feed. Please keep up posting.
I totally agree! How can you even appreciate the fabulous when you have the less-than-fabulous to compare it to?!
I like to say, I’m not perfect, but I’m perfect for someone.
I agree with the author of this post. We don’t HAVE to be perfect. And I do beleive that striving for perfection can make us unhappy. I don’t think we need to be complacent, or settle, but just do that best that WE can do. I actually wrote about this on my blog a couple of weeks ago!
http://bernicewood.wordpress.com/2010/06/10/none-of-us-are-perfect-why-not-give-each-other-a-break/
Dear Bernice,
Thanks for the comment. Yes, as long as I can say that I did the best I could, I’m pretty happy. I try to teach that to my kids as well…
Sarah
The Housewife,
All I can say to your comment is Amen!