Why perfection isn’t perfect

How to aim lower and go further.

On my off days, I can be a real perfectionist.

When in a particularly meticulous mood, my tea must be steeped not a split second longer than needed, my desk must be pristinely neat before I can even begin to think about work (usually the rest of my study too if I have the time, which I somehow always do) and, as a professional writer, my words must pirouette upon my page rather than tumble out in a mismatched jumble. And all this so called “perfection” is in leading up to my public debut of the final product which must, by all means, be as perfectly polished as a porcelain poodle’s bum.

So why do I call these days my “off days?” because perfection IS NOT perfect. In fact it is so far from it. How much of our time gets used up just trying to be perfect? Let me use this very post for example. I am about ten minutes in to my writing of it, five of those has involved me writing and rewriting my introductory sentence to try and get it jusssst right. Even when writing a post on how procrastinatory this pursuit of perfection is, I can’t help myself from trying to scramble back up onto the perfection pedestal.

We’ve let ourselves become obsessed with this word “perfect”. It creeps into our search for the perfect job, the perfect partner, the perfect house, and the perfect hairstyle. And what do we get landed with instead? A 9–5 that pays the bills, a spouse who ticks enough boxes, a white picketed home just like the neighbours’, and a hairdo that we hope will hold ‘til the next fad flings into fashion.

Our pursuit of this so-called perfection keeps us out the arena where the real action happens and locked in the toe-tapping, time-ticking waiting room.

As always, Dr Seuss describes it best:

The Waiting Place…

for people just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite

or waiting for wind to fly a kite.

or waiting around for Friday night

or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake

or a pot to boil, or a Better Break

or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants

or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.

Everyone is just waiting.

Too many of us are waiting for this thing called perfect to light up our lives, give purpose and polish to our work and make us feel fulfilled that what we have created is of true value. When we have piqued at this point of perfection we know we have made it. But how many great artists would describe their works as perfect? Those who have made it to the other side of the rainbow know full well that the pursuit of perfection is a fruitless battle. Because? Well it’s simple. There is no such thing as perfect.

This guise of perfection is in fact the procrastination wolf dressed as a virtuous white lamb. It is an excuse for a half-painted canvas, a two chapter novel in an eight chapter outline, an unticked task in the ever-growing task list. It wasn’t the perfect moment, it wasn’t the perfect scene to paint, the main character just wasn’t perfect enough. We leave work undone because we fear our fall from this apparent pedestal of perfection.

So here’s my advice. Replace your pursuit for perfectionism with a far more noble and value-providing quest for imperfectionism.

I grew up with parents who, every time I botched an artwork, spelt my brother’s name wrong on his birthday card or let the boy next door cut my fringe, remarked that it was a creation “full of character”. And the same goes for you. Your imperfect work is far from failure, it is blessed with an insurmountable amount of character. Anything mishapen, miswritten, or mismatched is swathed in a uniqueness nothing else can compete with. Our world will be a far better place with a little more character to brighten up its corners, celebrating its creases, creeks and crooks.

So, let your creative, imperfection out. Let it run far, let it run wild and free. Scribble outside the lines, paint in clashing colours and fill the world with your own unique character.

Don’t wait for the muse of perfection to perch upon your easel. Seize the moment now, trust in yourself, trust in your process and send your creation out into the world. However unfinished it may seem to you, it will be utterly, alluringly imperfect in someone’s eyes, and that’s all you need for it, and you, to be a success.

I’d rather be an imperfectionist out in the arena with work to show than a perfectionist ticking away time in the eternal waiting room. How about you?

❤ Dime for a Dream ❤