Accepting our imperfections
You’re not perfect. Neither am I. Now for the good news, let me tell you something that you may not know already….we don’t need to be. We don’t need to be perfect. Accepting our imperfections is something we can (and must) do.
Accepting Our Imperfections
I haven’t just accepted it, I’m proud of it: I will never be perfect. For the first few years of living in Costa Rica, I found myself trying to be the perfect “someone” to everyone — the perfect friend, the perfect vendor to each of my clients and the perfect boss to my team. Is this sounding familiar?
Perfection was a burden… and tiring. I created unrealistic standards for myself and others. I felt like nothing I did was good enough. This pursuit of perfection was damaging my work, stripping away my originality and vision because I was so focused on making everything “just right”. This in turn ended up consuming my entire creative process (and caused a lot of time to be wasted).
Stuck In A Loop?
I noticed I was stuck in a loop, repeating a five step cycle:
- Measure self against perfection
- Get disappointing results (I’m STILL not perfect?!?)
- Beat self up as punishment for imperfection
- Promise to improve
- And repeat…indefinitely.
If you are familiar with this no-fun merry-go-round, I’ve got some great news for you. You can jump off the ride at any time.
You can stop struggling to reach perfection, simply by accepting you will never be perfect.
Never. No matter how hard you try, it’s never gonna happen.
So I Should Just Give Up?
By no means does acceptance mean giving up. But it does mean acknowledging, and getting clear on, what is, of who you are right now, flaws and all. Acceptance allows you to let go of self-judgment and the constant struggle for perfection which, in turn, can you help you grow, both personally and professionally.
Works For Businesses Too
By letting go of that need for perfection, I’ve released my business from a constraining negative energy and enabled myself and my team to flourish. We’ve become much more process oriented versus product oriented. In turn, the quality we create is brilliant in its own sense — because it comes from within and what we love to do.
When we focus on our strengths and are given the space to do so, the natural result is one of excellence. It took me a while to get to this point and be able to let go of perfection, accepting what is. I am not perfect. I am perfectly imperfect. What perfection are you striving for in your life and how might letting it go and accepting “what is” lead to more clarity and joy? Tell me about it in the comments below.
love and lemonade,
