Perfectionism is an idealization of what is to be achieved, not a realistic look at the entire picture. In fact, one often misses out on what could occur when they aren't perfect, as failure is often the only way to truly find ones self. What type of life would you really have is everything worked out exactly the way that you wanted it to, how narrowly defined and soulless would your existence be. We have plenty of examples of how what was once thought to be perfection turned out not to be at all, suburbia was an idealized plan in which the automobile would make it possible for people to get to work and school when they needed to, yet would offer the isolation and peace that one needed when necessary. Yet what happened; the large roads that were built and the housing environment isolated neighborhoods from each other, people did not know who their neighbors were, and a sense of true community was lost.

That is just but one argument to show how perfection isn't necessarily the best thing for an individual. One needs to focus on doing the best that they can, at the same time being open to new ideas, to truly get away from being a perfectionist at old ideas that may no longer be relevant to what is going on in society today. Perfectionism does not allow any room to change and grow, as one is perceived as already having done everything that can be done, not having anything to prove. In reality there is nothing further from the truth; at the end of the day perfection just encourages complacency and boredom. It is obvious why people want to be perfect at what they do, the rejection of failure overshadows the importance of what could be learned from failing; falling short of perfection creates a perception that an individual may not truly be ready for opportunities, and in our angst we will do anything to make that perfect first impression.

Yet too often this only impresses other people that think themselves to be perfect as well, when perfectionists come across other individuals that are comfortable with failure and are looking for a way to improve rather than to allow failure to define themselves there can be friction. We never stop striving for perfection, but we should be realistic about the income, and realize that we do not know everything and that there is a lot that we could stand to learn. At the same time, failing to make an attempt out of the embarrassment of ignorance should be more embarrassing than what would actually happen if we fell short of the mark ...

Learn more about this author, Christopher Kendalls.
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