Letting Go of Perfection

Have you ever been so stubborn that you’ve kept your viewpoint, even though you know you’re wrong?

It’s funny, that, isn’t it?

We’re in an age and culture that seems to celebrate the fast and quick. How many of us have spent forever just scrolling through our social media? How many of us have jumped to google, for instance access to knowledge? How many of us have got bored and impatient at the slightest hint of a queue?

Had enough? Move on! Want something – anything – at 2am – jump online!

There’s so much going on in the world – so much that is exciting and new and stimulating – and we want to be a part of it all. We want to feel connected and wanted and valued and important and liked and loved….

… and all of that immediately. Right now.

Don’t we?

I feel exhausted just writing that.

It takes an effort to slow down. To stop the whirlwind of opportunity and adventure that seems to be beckoning us, constantly.

Amid all the imagery and words and voices calling us, it may seem almost impossible to find your own voice – your own unique, authentic voice.

It takes concerted effort to STOP: to step aside from the motorway, the rollercoaster, and say ‘Who am I?’ ‘What do I think?’

Amid all of it we struggle to know who WE are.

Then, when we come across a glimmer of ‘us’, we hold on to it. We grab it with both hands and we say ‘Mine’. ‘Mine’.

If someone contradicts us, it’s a personal insult. It’s a rejection of who we are. Or so it seems to us.

In the maelstrom of modern day living it’s so much harder to put that contradiction into perspective, to be grown up and rational.

Doing so means taking a virtual step backwards and being able to look at ourselves – warts and all. It means stepping back and accepting ourselves as a whole – as a human being – and knowing that we are all essentially flawed. We spend our lives doing our best but we make mistakes.

We’re human.

Yet, in today’s ‘perfect’ society, to be human is to be weak. To make a mistake is a humiliating acknowledgement that we’re less.

We’re less than perfect. We’re less than the person next to us. We’re not good enough.

It appears black or white. If we’re not perfect, we must be imperfect.

We use all of our strength to carry on being ‘perfect’ to the outside world. We remain steadfast in our personal opinions. We stick to our guns. It’s a fight. It’s a struggle. It’s tiring.

I am right. I WILL do this. No matter what. I am right and you are wrong. I will not be imperfect.

But….

…. What if….

………….. it’s ok to be imperfect?

How would that change your outlook?

What if you knew we were ALL imperfect?

Can you imagine a social media feed where everyone posts about their imperfections and normalises them? How would that make you feel?

I’ve made a mistake!! But I recognise I have, and I’m going to do better next time.

Imagine all those positive comments and likes “Good for you” “Oh, I’ve done that before!” “You idiot 😊”

Suddenly you realise that you’re ok.

You find that you’re still standing. You’re still smiling.

You can change your mind. You can see someone else’s point of view. You can admit when things are too much and you need to slow down.

You realise that your feelings and thoughts are important, even if they don’t fit the opaque template of the perceived world.

It takes strength to stand back. It takes strength to put other people aside and focus on your own thoughts and feelings. But when you do – oh the rewards!

It is ok to change your mind. It is ok to change your opinion. It is ok to do something different.

What might seem the weaker action is actually the stronger. It takes strength to make that decision.

You have it in you. Yes – you! You have it in you.

And when you have made that decision or change, I challenge you not to feel lighter and better.