Celebrating Progress, Not Perfection as the Year Ends

Gratitude for the Journey and the Present Us.

As the year draws to a close, I was reflecting on the goals I had penned at the beginning of the year. While going through the mental checklist, I felt disappointed about everything I wasn’t able to do or how far I was in some areas. Despite the positive changes in my lifestyle and work, my mind remained fixated on the gaps — the books unread, the situations I handled poorly, the work projects yet to be done, and the courses I didn’t finish. Soon, I started to feel anxious. And then I realised that I needed to pause. Although the year looked different than I anticipated, I did make progress.

While reflecting on your journey, you may be grappling with similar feelings. However, even with pending items on the to-do list, the work we could have done better, or the more responsible we could have been, we must celebrate the imperfect year we have had and who we are now.

Pain of Perfectionism

We frequently idealise ourselves, an image formed from our expectations and society’s. But, chasing the idea of perfection takes a toll on the human in us, our authentic self. Whether it’s the desire to write a perfect article, have a perfect relationship, or have perfect days, any gap in them has a huge impact on our behaviour and the way we treat ourselves and others.

Unrealistic Expectations

The standards to be perfect, perform without errors and effortlessly navigate tough situations make us set unrealistic expectations. And sometimes, we project them onto other people too. As we juggle between perfection and the fear of falling short, the pressure becomes exhausting. Any slight miss can feel like a huge failure and raise self-doubt. At times, to cope with that pressure, we may procrastinate or overwork, making it worse.

Fear of Failure

Living in a culture that advocates pre-defined standards of success, beauty, and behaviour, the fear of failure pushes us to seek control over everything. It is scary to go through societal judgment and rejection, both in professional and personal responsibilities. And we tend to micro-manage, scrutinize and regulate all aspects of our lives. The constant demand to be more impacts our overall well-being.

Comparison Trap

In the hope of doing our absolute best, we may compare our journey with others, measuring our life and work against their achievements. Thus, always demanding to be different and better than them. By pitting our worth against the accomplishment of others, we may start to feel that we aren’t doing enough.

Burnout and Physical Exhaustion

The checklist to perfection keeps growing and the toll it takes on our well-being becomes glaringly apparent. The inner voice urging us to reach further, push harder and accomplish more ignores the human in us. And we often overlook the importance of being kind towards ourselves. The self-neglect may lead to burnout, physical exhaustion, lack of motivation, insomnia etc. Moreover, as a captive of predefined standards, our creativity goes for a toss and our vision becomes narrowed.

Progress over Perfection

The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. — Confucius

While chasing the perfect idea of self or accomplishments, the significance of small wins and gradual growth often gets overshadowed. The self-criticism makes us feel guilty. However, we must shift our focus to the progress we have made, and have compassion towards our journey. Acknowledging the positives and expressing gratitude for how far we’ve come can be a huge motivator. Among all the misses and mistakes, we moved forward, we learned and we grew; and that must be cherished.

It’s a common belief that perfection is worth striving for. But, growth is. And growth doesn’t have a set trajectory. It is as unique as we are. There will always be more goals to achieve and more improvements to embrace, but we must celebrate who we are now, the wins and the progress we have made.

Here are the wins I’m celebrating:

1. Read more books this year.
2. Consistently invested in writing between work.
3. Completed a psychology course.
4. Restarted Writing Blogs.
5. Grew my Writing Page on Instagram.
6. Created boundaries in relationships.
7. Navigated my vulnerabilities in healthier ways.
8. Practised mindfulness.
9. Sought support from family in tough situations.
10. Put efforts into building a healthy work-life balance.

And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good. — John Steinbeck

Thank you for reading!🙌 I encourage you to reflect on your journey and appreciate the progress you’ve made. Feel free to share in the comments what victories you are celebrating.

Also published on my Website.