Perfectionism is unrealistic. If you’re so rigid about everything being absolutely perfect all the time, no exceptions, then you’re in for a rude awakening. Life does not work like that.
You are not perfect. I am not perfect. As humans, we make mistakes sometimes and this can often cause us to end up feeling guilty or ashamed for not having met an unrealistic expectation. However, there is a solution to this problem – we can lower our expectations. Yes, you read that right.
If you are a perfectionist, you are setting yourself up for disappointment and an enormous amount of stress. If you lower your expectations a little and remember that things don’t always go as planned, you can give yourself permission to relax. This does not mean to lower them so much that you just don’t care or stop trying to do well, and never use it as an excuse for not putting forth your best effort. You should always do your best at whatever you attempt to do and strive to be as efficient as possible, but don’t feel like you are a failure if (when) you mess up once in a while.
Of course, we should always try to make improvements and do as well as we possibly can, and practice until we excel as much as we are able to. Having said that, by acknowledging that sometimes, despite our best efforts and intentions, we will at times be less than perfect, it will take some of the pressure off and we will be a little less stressed.
To demand perfection is a sure way to be disappointed in everybody, for you will be bound to think ill of others.
Monica Fairview
The Weekly Post 