Confessions of an Evolving Perfectionist
Hello Blog World,
I have a confession: I am an evolving perfectionist. I always want things to go well, to be right, and to go off without a hitch. It feels good when these things happen. When they don’t, I can feel ashamed, frustrated, or sad. You can usually tell, because I will start to blush or turn red. Part of the need for perfection is connected to my own obsessive nature, part of it is out of anxiety, and part of it is related to my own ego.
It is funny, because I know that no one is perfect all the time. We all have moments of perfection. However, that is always peppered in between moments of complete imperfection. We are all wrong sometimes. We all trip and fall. Sometimes our shoes don’t match our outfits. Sometimes we say something incorrectly. We all do things imperfectly everyday.
There is some comfort in knowing that no one is perfect. Deep breathing and having a lot of practice at being imperfect has helped me work on the anxiety and shame that I can feel with a misstep. It also helps to remember that I am the only one who expects perfection from me. In my more centered moments, I can see that there is a huge freedom in letting perfectionism go and in accepting our imperfect selves. We can live boldly and creatively. Can you imagine what the world would be like if we all accepted our perceived imperfections and chose to live boldly? It would be amazing!
I am left wondering a few things. How do you accept and celebrate your imperfections? What would you do if you wouldn’t feel the shame associated with being wrong or with being imperfect?
- Lauren, Youth Coordinator and Evolving Perfectionist