I totally agree Snap..we are on the same page today! It is so easy to slip into being everything to everyone and expecting perfection. Things change..life changes..we change. Is so much better to go with the flow. You know I for one needed this today hon! Thank you! Love, Sarah
I call myself a recovering perfectionist. It was instilled in me at a very young age, by my father, to do everything well or not to do it at all.
Once that is ingrained in your mind (especially as a child), it's very hard to move past. I still retain my perfectionism in my artwork (which I believe serves me well), but have tried very hard to move away from it in other aspects of my life.
August 13, 2011 at 11:16 AM
This Daily Om arrived in my email box this morning. It just hit the spot!
[Image]
August 12, 2011 Set Yourself Free Letting Go of Perfection
Life becomes much more interesting once we let go of our quest for perfection and aspire for imperfection instead.
It is good to remember that one of our goals in life is to not be perfect. We often lose track of this aspiration. When we make mistakes, we think that we are failing or not measuring up. But if life is about experimenting, experiencing, and learning, then to be imperfect is a prerequisite. Life becomes much more interesting once we let go of our quest for perfection and aspire for imperfection instead.
This doesn’t mean that we don’t strive to be our best. We simply accept that there is no such thing as perfection—especially in life. All living things are in a ceaseless state of movement. Even as you read this, your hair is growing, your cells are dying and being reborn, and your blood is moving through your veins. Your life changes more than it stays the same. Perfection may happen in a moment, but it will not last because it is an impermanent state. Trying to hold on to perfection or forcing it to happen causes frustration and unhappiness.
In spite of this, many of us are in the habit of trying to be perfect. One way to nudge ourselves out of this tendency is to look at our lives and notice that no one is judging us to see whether or not we are perfect. Sometimes, perfectionism is a holdover from our childhood—an ideal we inherited from a demanding parent. We are adults now, and we can choose to let go of the need to perform for someone else’s approval. Similarly, we can choose to experience the universe as a loving place where we are free to be imperfect. Once we realize this, we can begin to take ourselves less seriously and have more fun. Imperfection is inherent to being human. By embracing your imperfections, you embrace yourself.For more information visit dailyom.com
5 Comments
Close this window Jump to comment formA most excellent reminder!!! Here is to being perfectly imperfect!! xo
August 13, 2011 at 9:23 AM
I struggle with this - perhaps the result of being an oldest child - but you'd think I'd be able to let it go now!
August 13, 2011 at 9:43 AM
I let go of perfection a long time ago, no, wait, I never wanted to be perfect. Yup that's it. xox Corrine
August 13, 2011 at 10:51 AM
I totally agree Snap..we are on the same page today! It is so easy to slip into being everything to everyone and expecting perfection. Things change..life changes..we change. Is so much better to go with the flow. You know I for one needed this today hon!
Thank you! Love, Sarah
August 13, 2011 at 11:11 AM
I call myself a recovering perfectionist. It was instilled in me at a very young age, by my father, to do everything well or not to do it at all.
Once that is ingrained in your mind (especially as a child), it's very hard to move past. I still retain my perfectionism in my artwork (which I believe serves me well), but have tried very hard to move away from it in other aspects of my life.
August 13, 2011 at 11:16 AM