How to Fold the Perfect Fitted Sheet
How to Make the Perfect Cookie
How to Scramble Eggs Perfectly
How to Host the Perfect Party
How to Write the Perfect Blog Post
How to Craft the Perfect Blog Title
These are examples of actual pins that have come across my Pinterest feed. Often. As in every day. And quite frankly, I can’t handle the word “perfect” any more.
I’m not sure when the pressure to be perfect set in. I’m even less sure as to when everyone started thinking that they had the solution on how to be perfect. Because I don’t even know what perfect means. It’s such a subjective word. What’s perfect for you isn’t perfect for me and vice versa. So how are so many people all of a sudden authorities on being perfect? How can they tell me what to do?
And why is it so important to be perfect? Why can’t it be good enough just to be good enough? Just to try your best?
I don’t know about you, but when I see that word, perfect, I don’t see something to strive for. I don’t see success and hard work and a beautiful, awe inspiring end result.
I see pressure.
I see a standard I can’t achieve.
I see never having self-acceptance, never being satisfied, and never being happy.
I don’t like living like that. It’s too hard. It’s too emotionally draining.
So I’m done with perfect. And you should be, too.
Because perfection isn’t that important.
No, what’s important is trying your hardest to get through. To do what you can within your limits and your standards.
The standards you set for yourself. No matter how high or low they might be to someone else.
Because when you strive for perfection as set by societal normal or blogger edicts or Buzzfeed decrees, it begets depression, intimidation, sadness, and frustration.
But when you strive to do your best according to your morals, values, and goals, even if it results in imperfection according to everyone else, you get satisfaction, happiness, productivity, and gratitude.
I’m aiming for those. Because I’d rather be happy with burned cookies than be sad with perfect ones.
Life is what happens inside the imperfections.
And I’m completely fine with that.
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[…] Jana from Jana Says: On Getting Rid of Perfection […]
Happy New Year! Love this. Perfection is different for everyone.
No way do I need to fold any sheet perfectly. Lol! It’s all a matter of personal opinions. I like to do stuff that keeps me happy. And I am, for the most part. Steph didn’t get the “clean” gene from me!
I do clean and clean up and am messy organized. I am eternally grateful for everything, which makes for a very happy existence for me! That’s my personal definition for perfection! Love, SMD’s momma
Love this. And btw, the way to fold a fitted sheet perfectly is to roll it up in a ball and stick it in a pillowcase 🙂
Marcie recently posted…a clarification
This was my recent rediscovery when I realized… I knew how to fold a fitted sheet once and it was easy. But oh well! Smushed vague-rectangle shape it is!
Revanche recently posted…Real Estate Investing: Home warranties and absentminded landlording
I am so with you on the word perfect! Every time I see it, I die a little inside. Perfect is boring and unrealistic anyways. No one needs perfect! You know what is perfect?! Just doing you and living life without worrying about how it looks all the time!
Nadine recently posted…Weekend Shananigans
Perfect is an illusion. There is always room for growth and change and they means they can’t be perfect. I totally think the idea of trying to be better and improve is better than striving for perfect. Life is messy and perfect doesn’t work for messy! 😉
Kerry recently posted…Clogs and Dreaming
We have a joke around these parts about “QC” (quality control) in the developing world, where they will look at a clearly broken item and declare “it’s good enough!” (use heavily accented voice here). But the thing is, I often say it to myself (also with the accent) when I am done with something that I know I’ve put a good effort into, but it’s maybe not as amazing as I was expecting. I’m learning that just keeping at it is pretty amazing.
Sally recently posted…A Few More Specific Goals for 2015
Here here! The existence of individuality pretty much eliminates the concept of “perfect” anyway, since it means there’s more than 1 way to do things. I don’t think in sense of “perfecting” things. I “optimize” which just means I’m looking for a better way to do it, not that it has to be the ultimate best possible way.
Jenn @ Business, Life & Design recently posted…Addiction, Alcoholism, and a Challenge
Amen to that sister! The other side of that coin I think is when bloggers shoot down other bloggers for what they are trying to do with their blogs. Hey man, we are just trying our best to do what is right for us. That bugs the crap out of me! Perfect is unattainable! I just want to be awesome in the best way I know how. 🙂
Tonya@Budget and the Beach recently posted…One Job I Would Never Want
This is an amazing post. Everything you say is on point. Perfect needs to be deleted from our minds so we can be free!
Kenya recently posted…We survived the holiday season with a baby
Yes, totally agree! All striving for perfect does is leave you comparing yourself to others and being disappointed! (Says the perfectionist who has repeatedly btdt!) I’m doing my best, and when I fall short (pretty much always to some degree), there’s grace. SO thankful for that!
Julia recently posted…New Year’s and Weekend Recap
Professionally having had it drilled into me that “perfect” for one person is totally a different thing to another person, I don’t pay much attention to that anymore. It’s awesome to be able to see that what does the job well and on time is what makes “perfect”, not some weird unattainable version of satisfying the job requirements that also requires sacrificing some other key elements. Applied to life: if it gets the job done and you don’t have to redo it, it’s fine. Get on with your life! 🙂
Revanche recently posted…Real Estate Investing: Home warranties and absentminded landlording
I like to use the word perfect as follows: we are all perfectly imperfect.
The End.
I’m glad to see a post from you!
SMD @ Life According to Steph recently posted…TWTW – first one in 2015
preach! love this post girly. screw perfect. it really is so true though, the more i try and aim for something perfect or something dictated by someone else as perfect, the more sad i get with whatever it is i do end up with. i’d rather burned cookies too because heck at least i made them!
kristen recently posted…2015 is going to be the best year yet
no such thing as “perfect” so why even bother to strive for something that’s just an illusion? besides, “perfection” is a biased opinion…what is perfect for one person, is likely not perfect for another.
kathy @ real talk recently posted…2015 goals ‘n tings
Preach it, girl! I stay off Pinterest for this very reason — people trying to sell their version of perfection to me. I know that I’m far from perfect and I do things that are good enough for me. Things that make me happy, even if they aren’t Pinterest-worthy. To an imperfect 2015!
lisacng @ expandng.com recently posted…2014 in review
I am totally done with “perfect”. I was actually writing about this a little today! I just don’t think everyone has it all together all the time and pretending it is on a blog is so time consuming and deceiving!
Christina recently posted…Latest NetGalley Reads