Yes, We Live In An Imperfect World.

We live in a society that tells us perfection is a thing that can be attained. Yes, today more than ever we are seeing a lot more flexibility around the acceptance of the imperfect. The iterative approach to building businesses gives you a lot of room to test and learn and fail forward. But say what you want, I still believe that the spirit of perfectionism is alive and well in the world. 

Why is this so problematic? Ummm. None of us are perfect. And, if we’re going to spend our life chasing perfection, we’re going to be disappointed most of our life. How fun is that? What’s helped me deal with my own pursuit of perfection is to find ways to celebrate the imperfection.

I want to free up this dissatisfied space in me to find time to live more freely, to actually enjoy my life.

Here are some thoughts on how I approach the rhythms of imperfection.

Prioritize Fun Over Perfection

I’ve started projects or hobbies that I know I will never be good at. For instance, I am never going to be a scratch golfer. That is not possible. But, I went and started playing golf anyway - because it was fun. It gave me tremendous joy. I just love being out there in all that green, competing against myself, and having a good laugh when I make one million mistakes. I also started taking piano lessons. Same thing, I’m never going to be a good pianist. But just banging out a tune on the piano can give me so much joy. So, I allow myself to do things that I know I will never be good at, and it doesn’t matter. I prioritize the fun over the perfection. 

Truthtelling Friends

Another thing that helps me is having friends that are honest with me. So, if my system is wired to shoot for perfection, then I’m probably going to go there, even if I try to avoid this behavior. So, I need friends who are going to say, “Hey lady, give it a rest.” I need people I can trust that will be really honest with me, even when it hurts. This helps so much, and by the way, they’re there to point out the good stuff too. Nothing better than honest, but encouraging friends.

Prioritize Health

Another pragmatic reason why trying to stay honest about perfection is your desire to live a healthy life - physically and mentally.  If you are pursuing something that you’re never going to achieve, don’t you think this will have a negative effect on both your body and mind? Of course, it will. Romantic longing is one thing, constantly fighting for the unattainable is something else. When I’m all tied up in a knot, I remind myself that my pursuit of perfection is only going to make me sick. Is it worth it? Absolutely not. So I use this lever to help me keep my mind focused in the right way. 

Though you may ease off pursuing perfection, that does not mean you shouldn’t strive for excellence. I still “play hard” at golf because hacking my way around a course is not exactly fun. But because I know I’ll never be perfect, I can have a good time doing my best.  In my opinion, the 19th hole was invented for having a good laugh.