Embrace Imperfection

Right from childhood, we are conditioned to believe and think that only being perfect is acceptable. Parents, School, Society all play a big role. Anything less than perfect is not good. This seed gets implanted deep into our minds. We start believing that perfectionism is a doorway to greater likeability. As human beings we all crave for social acceptance. And then the rat race begins for getting the perfect grades, being the perfect spouse, having the perfect bodies, the perfect coworker, the star sportsman, the A grade parent and so on.

I must admit I have been living this life of perfectionism for many years..  high achiever, people pleaser, perfect at work, probably afraid of not being liked if I was not perfect. Unconsciously I was passing on this message to my children as well. One day when things were not perfect when I returned home from work, I started screaming at my young children and diffused the peaceful atmosphere. The boys were having a blast, fun time with all the toys around them. Instead of participating in the joy I chose to see the things that were not in order. After they cleaned up the mess, they asked – Do you now love us?

This question was like a tight slap on my face. They started associating my love for them with being perfect. I learnt a big lesson and asked myself – What was more important to me than perfection? Of course it was my deep love and connection for them and that’s what I value.

It was like a light bulb moment; I decided to change my philosophy immediately. I have embraced imperfection since then. Though perfectionism still shows up at times, I am more aware of it now. I am in the recovering perfectionism phase. This philosophy has helped me only in my personal life but also at work as well. I put out the work that I need to put out and let go the urge to read the presentation 20 times trying to spot for any typos.

My mantra now is to Embrace Imperfection, It deserves its due share.

This is my invite to you as well ..to start embracing imperfection. Ask yourself – What is more important to you than perfection?

Until Next,

Keep Smiling..