You might look at someone’s life at think ‘oh it seems perfect.’ They have all the money, are happily married, with children, and have a great career. You then in your head think ‘oh I strive to reach the perfect life.’ But is there anything such as perfect? Or are we meant to be simply imperfect.
That woman you see who seems perfect on the outside, do you really know the thoughts she has in her head? Whether behind that makeup is a smile or a tired soul? You can never tell but we want our lives to be how we perceive others’ lives to be. We compare our life to the show other people put it on. All of us hiding behind a mask.
As human beings, we weren’t meant to achieve some sort of perfect life. We are a work in progress transforming every day becoming better but that doesn’t mean we will one day wake up and be perfect. There is joy in imperfection that society makes us believe doesn’t exist. As if following all the norms will make us happy.
Why we need to be simply imperfect
Perfectionism makes us procrastinate
Because we strive to be perfect if something is mediocre we think we can’t put it out in the world. We stay away from even starting the task because we think it is going to be just bad. We can’t put that out there it’s not ready. Everything you put out there is a work in progress and something you can improve.
I wanted to be a life coach from the moment I graduated from university. But I was afraid I wouldn’t be good enough so I didn’t even start. What is one thing you have avoided because you thought you wouldn’t be perfect at it?
Keeps us away from our true potential
Expecting the perfect result in the first go keeps us from achieving our full potential. I wanted to be a writer from when I was young. But because I wasn’t amazing at grammar and got a few bad marks it is something I stopped pursuing. Even writing my college essay I didn’t want to do it because I thought my writing style wasn’t good enough. Now, my writing style isn’t perfect but I am my own unique person bringing something to the table no one else can. And you know what that is ME. No one else has my brain, my experiences, or my personality.
Destroys our inner child
Think of a child playing in the mud, with messy hair and laughing. What fun they seem to have they don’t know the realities of adulthood yet we think to ourselves. But does adulthood have to be the great struggle we have made it to be? Of course, paying bills and doing chores is tiring and it’s not something a four-year-old has to do. But the other part which we put on ourselves is trying to be perfect. What difference does it make if our hair is messy, or we sit with our legs open or say something that doesn’t sound amazing? The next day, next week, year, or five years is that going to matter? What impact is that moment going to have in your life?
Break those shackles and bring back your inner child. What is something you did as a child and can’t do as an adult? What’s stopping you?
Believe me, swings, water slides, toys, painting, and mud are still as fun. We just stopped doing them because it wasn’t considered normal. But we can change what is considered normal and that is what embracing imperfection is about.
Are we missing out on some great moments?
“Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of good. A twenty-minute walk that I do is better than a four-minute walk that I don’t do. The imperfect book that gets published is better than the perfect book that never leaves my computer. The dinner party of take-out Chinese food is better than the elegant dinner that I never host.”– Gretchen Rubin The Happiness Project
I remember this quote hitting me hard. I would avoid throwing dinner parties because my house is too messy or the food won’t be good enough. I’d avoid planning things because if it wasn’t perfect what’s the point. But there is a point imperfect can still be fun. You would still meet your friends and hang out. That is a moment you are missing cause you wanted to be perfect. Think about an imperfect moment that you had a lot of fun in? Remind yourself of it when you are making those excuses.
Or exercising it is okay to exercise for 10 minutes a day. You can start small and build it up but we have expectations that we have to be the best and do our 45 minutes.
My blog doesn’t have to be perfect. There are going to be grammatical errors and that is okay. There are going to be things other people don’t agree with. The best I can do in the moment is enough and I don’t strive to be perfect. Being a work in progress is okay.
I am not saying don’t try to do your best but if something goes wrong it’s okay. I used to be the type of a person if I said something wrong I’d think about it for days. No one would even remember what I said but it would spin in my head. Now I think about it I go oh lol what did I do. Feel what I have to feel and move on. I tell myself I am not striving to be perfect I am who I am and it’s okay.
Wrap Up for simply imperfect
So let’s change the way society talks about perfect as if it is a badge of honour. It is not a badge of honour to be put together all the time. It’s not even possible. We as human beings are messy, imperfect, and trying to do our best and that’s okay.
I want to walk around without wearing shoes, dance in the rain, have a messy bun, talk loudly and laugh loudly. All those things are okay!
What’s stopping you from being the person you were meant to be?
Enjoyed this article read our blog on embracing imperfection.
