perfectionist

 

Perfection. Everyone tries to obtain this mysterious goal, but falls short every single time they set out to accomplish this. Most, if not all of frustration comes from this lofty, unobtainable goal not happening. I believe it is important to not only see that perfection cannot be reached, but it is also important to understand the benefits from not being a perfectionist.

Here are the four major benefits of not trying to be a perfectionist:

1. You will create better relationships.

When you learn to stop putting up a perfection shield to keep others from knowing the ins-and-outs of your imperfect life, you will let more people in and will create more lasting relationships. This allows you to be closer with others and learn more through them and be able to pour into the lives of more people.

2. Life is much more fun.

When you break through the fear of failure and stop procrastinating due to the possible dismay of others, you learn that perfectionism was never really your true goal in the first place. All you really wanted to do in life was to make a difference in the lives of others. When you come to this realization, life is always more fun to be in. When you learn to live to have more fun with your life, you will also learn to stop focusing so much on yourself and will begin focusing on the lives of others.

3. Stress levels are lower.

When you aren’t bending over backwards to meet crazy deadlines and aren’t spreading yourself too thin, life is much more enjoyable. Perfectionists tend to take more things personal, so when you break this, you will bounce back quicker from negativity.

One area to look at concerning your stress levels is with the expectations you have set for yourself. People can definitely have too high of expectations when they aren’t even attainable. When you have realistic expectations for yourself and others, you are able to reach huge goals with less stress. It’s a win-win.

4. Creativity flourishes. 

Within the creative process it is imperative to allow for imperfection. We have talked about this before, but it is a necessary point to take away here. And you don’t need to have a job in a creative role to apply this in your life. When you are creative with your everyday life and willing to make mistakes along the way, you allow yourself room to breathe and room to make things better through making more mistakes.

Now, this doesn’t diminish the fact that we should strive for perfection, but we are not to let perfection be what deters us from taking risks and allowing ourselves to make mistakes. When we step out and do these four things, we can allow imperfection to make us better, today.