Perfection is a fallacy

“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life.” – Anne Lamott

There is nothing like perfection, it is non-existent because perfection is also a perspective. What may be perfect for you must be nonsense for someone else. People can be extremely good at something, because of the passion, hard work and most importantly the repetition, which we call as an experience, they add to their work, but they aren't perfect. No artist can give a masterpiece each time. Best sales guy does not win business every day, and we the communicators, don’t get the front page for our clients very often. Trying to be perfect is like torturing yourself each day, whipping yourself each time you fail. It is not worth it.

Try remembering these 5 points, whenever you feel the urge to be a perfectionist:

1.      You don’t need to be perfect to be successful - you just need to be passionate about what you do and you will figure out the best way to do it and each day you will be better at it.

2.      There is no perfect timing for anything – We keep hearing this from stockbrokers or real estate developers that there is no perfect time to invest, it levels out over the time. Similarly, there is no perfect time to start your new project, to start your new course or even to get a new job. Start, either you will succeed or learn.

3.      Being resilient is important – you need to have the resilience to fight any storm or adversity. Being perfect won't help but accepting your shortcomings or situation and rising-up will make you stronger. A tall tree has more chance to break down during the storm.

4.      People whom you compare yourself with are also not perfect – what you see about others in their social posts or your super successful colleague or your boss, are not the examples of perfection either. They have their issues, they are struggling with each day, and believe me you would never want to take up their issues along with their perfection. Your quest for happiness has no relation to perfection. Happiness is inside you, around your loved ones and in what you enjoy doing the most.

5.      The world itself isn't perfect either – famine, natural disasters, pandemics are part and parcel of this world along with the beauty of nature. There is greed, selfishness all over, along with humanity and compassion. When God himself didn't bother to make the perfect world, why are we struggling to make our lives perfect, the concept itself is a lie.

We’re meant to living and learning, falling and rising, expanding and creating, relaxing and hustling, stumbling and struggling, loving and giving. Enjoy your imperfection and live life as it comes to you. Having been through this journey myself, believe me, perfection is nothing but a fallacy.