The Struggle To Perfection

It has been a weird journey. From trying to rub stones to generate fire, to building empires to making planes fly, to landing on the moon to wanting to achieve more and more every day. Humans have never stopped trying; to do more, to do better, to achieve more perfection. We have excelled ourselves in all ways possible but there is always the same thing that it comes to. “Could have done better”. Is this temptation to achieve more and better a boon or a bane? Is there a finite answer to this, anyway? Let’s take a break and talk about how not to be perfect and how imperfection, in all its forms, is a beautiful thing!

A Seed In Childhood.

From a very young age, we hear things like “Look, he runs better”, “It’s good, but you can do better”, “Trying writing that ‘A’ like she does”. We force our kids to aim for a perfection which is a carved out reality of some other human being. We force them to believe that the sky has to be blue and the oranges have to be round; restrict them from expanding their imaginations in whichever way they’d like and instead, keep them in fine lines of boundaries etched by our so-called “perfect” world.

The Drive In Adulthood

As we grow older, the idea of being the perfect self creates so much pressure, that it often tends to be counter-productive. After the seed grows into a full-grown plant, that’s where the zeal and ever-burning fire to get ahead, without pausing for a breath, kicks in. In such times, we know that it’s not so much a pleasant ride anymore. The more time we spend on trying to be the illusive, perfect version of ourselves, the more we are going to go diving into the sea of perfection, the more imperfect the result is going to be. 

What Can Be Done About It?

If you are also someone who has this urge to perfect anything and everything, here’s a tip. It’s completely okay to not be perfect. Imperfection is beautiful and human, and something that is inherent to the existence of human beings is a form of perfection in itself. All we have to remember is no matter what we do, we have to give our best efforts, and that is the maximum perfection we can aim for. Enjoying the process of getting to the final destination is more important than achieving “perfection”. Here are a few things to focus on when your drive tells you that “Not perfect yet!”:

• The idea of perfection is relative. 
• What one thinks of you is not your goal of ‘perfection’, your best effort is your definition of perfection.
• We are our only competition and the race is called “Who’s The Happiest in Life?” and not “Who’s the Best?”

The bottom line is- Perfection is a utopia, and it only looks good in books and fairytales. So, be your best self and enjoy the beautiful journey that life is, in all its imperfections! Now this reminds me of a song by The Script, let me know if you like it 

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