My Perfectly Imperfect Post

 

I was attending a Soul Transformation Therapy workshop this weekend during which I received a special insight. Apparently… I don’t need to be perfect!

Well, I knew that! I even wrote a blog post on it… The blog post I had planned to publish two weeks ago… the fully written one… the one that was just never good enough! Here I was, writing (and rewriting) about the value of progress rather than perfection. All the while, I couldn’t stop judging my post as sub-standard! 

But enough of that, if I don’t need to be perfect, then it is with great joy that I present to you my perfectly imperfect post…

 

Striving for perfection

The other day, I read an interview with a performing artist who said he strives for perfection. And I thought: ‘Don’t we all… but why?’ There is a saying amongst Iranians that translates as “The flawless flower is God.” This infers that perfection is divine and unattainable to us – mere mortals – and yet…

We wish for the perfect physique. As a result, we look down on our body and promise ourselves to start a new exercise routine tomorrow.  We want to own a business, but it has to be flawless or else no-one will want the service we offer. We dream of being an artist, but we freeze in front of a blank canvas at the thought of anyone seeing our imperfect creations. We desire a romantic relationship, but we might get hurt, judged or disappointed unless it’s… perfect.

 

The paradox

Meanwhile, there are people who exercise and take care of themselves. They may not have a ‘perfect’ body, but they look and, more importantly, feel healthy. There are big companies with huge profits and with  policies on how to replace faulty products. There are successful actors who admit, in interviews, that they don’t like all their performances. And, of course, there are imperfect people in imperfect relationships who make each other happy.

 

A perfect path to procrastination

Perfect comes from the Latin word perfectus, which describes something that has been carried out and completed. Ironically, our striving for perfection can stop us in our tracks. It can turn into a burden so heavy, we find ourselves overcome with self doubt and fear of failure – as anything less than perfect would be considered a failure.

Procrastination also has its etymological roots in Latin. Pro means ‘forward’ and crastinus means ‘belonging to tomorrow.’ So, procrastination pulls us away from the potential existing in the present moment. Instead, it causes a blockage in the form of a constant delay from one day to the next. In this limbo, self doubt and fear of failure can easily take root and grow tenfold, prompting a further division between the life we aspire to live and the one we have.

 

Progress is a bumpy road!

Could striving for perfection  stem from a lack of self love and self acceptance? A voice in us that whispers: “I am not good enough as I am, I can’t accept it and I don’t want anyone to find out.” A whisper so quiet we may not even be aware of it, yet loud enough to stop us from living the life we want while remaining discontent with the one we have…

Growth happens once we accept the perfect imperfections of our life and allow ourselves to just be… When we suspend judgement and replace it with love and acceptance, we create a solid foundation where we can work towards the implementation of our dreams and visions in our daily life.

When we aim for a movement forward rather than perfection, every step becomes a victory. We find a reason to celebrate the smallest steps because we know we are experiencing progress. In the process, we become fully present, content and detached from fear. We can finally act out of inspiration. And who knows, maybe then, we might even experience a divine moment of perfection , realising that it was always so…