In the search of creating a post, I stumbled across this video that reminded me something I often forget: perfection is a self-imposed standard impossible to achieve. But we all want to achieve it in whatever we do.
It’s healthy to strive for perfection, but it’s not healthy to expect to achieve it. The strive for perfection makes us want to become better at our craft, but we shouldn’t stop crafting just because it doesn’t come up perfect. It will never be perfect. The better we get at something, the higher our standards will become because there is always room for improvement. So if there is always room for improvement, isn’t that the opposite of perfection?
I want to be perfect in whatever I do, but I don’t expect that. I know I’ll screw it up because I’ve done it before and that’s in human nature (last time I checked, I’m still human). In my opinion, the strive for perfection needs to be seen as a goal for improvement, not as an expectance of outcome. As Peter Dinklage says: you need to give yourself permission to fail.
Is there anything perfect on this Earth? I don’t think so. Therefore, why do we want it so bad? Maybe it’s only a cognitive behavior developed over the years as a defense mechanism against shame, blame and judgement, just as Brené Brown says in the video.
How often does the strive for perfection stand in your way of doing something?