Yoga Michigan

The Flaw of Perfectionism

Many people consider perfectionism as a positive quality, and people strive for perfection in their endeavors. Olympians train hard in the hopes of achieving a perfect score, musicians practice for years trying to play flawlessly, and students study diligently aiming for a perfect score on their exam. Perfection can bring us personal satisfaction, earn us recognition, and maybe even increase our income. So is there anything wrong with seeking perfection? Not really, as long as we accept the fact that it will be a constant cause of disappointment. The problem with perfectionism is that it simply goes against nature. 

 

If we search nature, we can easily see that it is full of imperfection. A dying tree hanging over a muddy pond, a roadside meadow overgrown with weeds, a thunderstorm moving in on a clear blue sky... If creation were meant to be perfect, then how can we explain animals such as the giraffe with its overly long neck, the elephant with its overly long nose, or the hippoptamus with its overly large mouth? Nature is fascinating, mysterious even, but it is not "perfect."

 

Modern humans have gone overboard in their quest for perfection. Nowadays you find people who refuse to leave their home unless their outfit matches their shoes. They must set their hair in a certain style, have their cup of morning coffee in their designated mug, and will only eat Haagen-Dazs ice cream and it has to be vanilla-flavored. If anything is not "perfect" according to their standards, it can easily ruin their day. 

 

Their quest for perfection not only causes them disapointment but extends to cause grief for their neighbors. People complain about trivial things, like their neighbors who were so inconsiderate as to have planted a tomato plant in their front yard or had the audacity to paint their front door black. We complain when someone's cell phone inadvertently goes off during a meeting, when they dress in an outfit that we would never wear ourselves, and even if they were to sneeze or cough too loudly!

 

Our traffic laws have become an epitome of human foolishness. In order to prevent accidents, we put up traffic lights. We put them all over hoping that more is better, even in places like entrances to subdivisions and low-traffic areas. We are supposed to stop at each red light and wait until it turns green, whether there is any good reason (traffic) to stop or not. If we were to go through one of these red lights, there are government-paid enforcers of this foolishness who will fine us, inconvenience us and treat us like criminals. Perhaps the original intention was good, but traffic law enforcement no longer has much to do with safety. 

 

Another problem with perfectionism is that it is highly subjective. You may spend countless hours and great effort writing what you felt ended up as a perfect report, for example. You were so proud of it and sure that you would earn praise but were disappointed to learn that your teacher or boss did not share your views and instead gave you a bad grade or criticism. 

 

Perfection can happen by chance, for brief moments and to please a small number of persons, but it simply cannot happen on an on-going basis to please everyone. There is nothing wrong in seeking satisfaction in our daily actions, but if we wish to live a stress-free life, we must allow ourselves to be imperfect as well as accept the imperfections of others around us.

 

A key to a finding happiness is not to become perfect but to discover the beauty in imperfection.