A while ago I saw a message on Facebook that read, “Remind yourself that it is okay not to be perfect”. We read all these little messages daily, but we don’t give them much thought. Most of these messages are meant to install a positive way of thinking, but let’s face it, life is not a walk in the park, and sustaining positivity sometimes requires not acknowledging reality. The way I interpret the above message is that it means not to be so hard on yourself. So, why are we so hard on ourselves, and what is this “perfect” we all strive to be? It is a word that keeps changing its meaning. For instance, a newborn baby, born healthy with all its appendages is said to be perfect. That is almost the only time we are considered perfect by others and as we get older we are constantly reminded how imperfect we are. Pretty soon we need no one to remind us, we see ourselves as flawed. Our schooling system and society are set up to highlight what they consider to be imperfections. You are imperfect when you don’t achieve academically or in a sport. Physically, we are conditioned to believe that the bodies of models are perfect, which of course means most of us fall short. Our constant comparing and shortcomings to what we perceive to be perfect feed our insecurities. We strive to be the impossible and then we ask ourselves why we fail.
Imagine a world where we all are “perfect”. Where everybody is an academic oil painting and loves the planet and everything on it. I don’t know about you, but I would be bored to death, which means it’s no longer perfect. There would be nothing to learn or to experience, so what would be the point? Just for that reason, we were created differently; unique in our own way. So next time you find yourself wanting to be perfect, embrace your uniqueness. It is our uniqueness that makes this world go around, not perfection. Be yourself and stop trying to strife for something that does not exist. More importantly, stop comparing yourself to something that does not exist.
Be yourself and that’s perfect!
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