According to Indonesian author Toba Beta, practice doesn’t make perfect, but practice reduces the imperfection. At some points in life, the drive to do quality work has us run up against the perfectionist problem. It can become so serious that it becomes harder to let anything go without trimming off all the edges.
The same is the case with our personal lives. The fear of judgment or the need to be effective leads us into thinking we should be flawless. But perfection is only a distant pipe dream, and here is why you should stop chasing it.
Perfection Is Uninteresting
So let’s assume by some way you achieve the much-acclaimed perfection. Now what? You may not hear this often but perfection is less interesting than imperfection. Why? The flaws, rough-edged, bent rules and counter-intuitive choices make our work unique, effective and memorable. Those little shortcomings are what attracts others to our creations. Agreeably, people like things that stand out, not the ones that fit in. As such, what is expected does not get noticed.
Your Happiness
People may not want to admit it but chasing perfection can make them miserable. Trying to fix things that should not be fixed makes room for endless worry and unnecessary obsession. If you constantly strive to be someone you admire, trying to be everything the person is that you are not, you would be pointless stressing yourself. Rather than going after what is another person’s problem, focus on the things you can change and improve.
Regrets
Everyone wishes they can go back in time to right their wrongs. Well, I guess there is a good reason it is impossible to turn back the hands of time to make these changes. For one, mistakes do not define you but are only part of the learning process that is life. If you keep focusing on things you cannot change, you will be creating room in your thoughts for bitter regrets. Trying to be perfect is not a human thing. Even the person you admire also has imperfections, only probably that they accept them.
Does Perfect Even Exist?
Name one person who you know is perfect. Go on, the world will wait. Still, thinking? No one? That is what we all think. Even supernatural beings, if they exist, are not perfect. So who has the right to say you must be perfect? Answer: no one. Perfection is a ghost. The more you chase it, the crazier you get. And ghosts have an uncanny ability to twist you from the inside out. Reality check: what is the perfect version of this article? Think about it.
This article is imperfect, but you get the message. It is not the best one about this topic but you have learned some valuable lessons. It is the way it is because there is no formula to make it flawless, only guidelines to make it good enough for you to read and understand.
