Most of us live in a culture and society totally obsessed with perfection; an obsession that invariably leads to pain - emotional, psychological, physical, social and financial pain. The perfection obsession is rampant. It's completely ridiculous. It's unhealthy. It's unrealistic, and it's potentially very dangerous.
I have personally seen it lead to anxiety, depression, social dysfunction, eating disorders, emotional problems, unrealistic expectations, ruined relationships, massive financial debt, destructive habits, and unfortunately, the occasional suicide.
We want it all, badly. We want perfect bodies, perfect teeth, perfect careers, perfect academic scores, perfect relationships, perfect children, and perfect lives. We try to convince ourselves we're all about the deep and meaningful, but when we take an honest, realistic look at how we live as a collective of people, the overwhelming message (perhaps not from you and I personally) is to aim for perfection.
In order to have (the appearance of) perfection, we will do almost anything.
We have ten credit cards and spend money we don't have. We obsess about labels and brands. We obsess about how others see us and what they think of us. We mutilate our healthy bodies with elective surgery and make rich surgeons richer. We preen, pluck, suck, and tuck ourselves within an inch of our lives (literally sometimes). We starve ourselves. We self-diagnose and self-medicate. We lie to others and ourselves. We spend our lives acting out our perfect marriage, career, and existence. We compromise our values.
If only we could all see the beauty of our flaws, the beauty of normal. If only we could understand the (potential) happiness in normal.
I love my life, my relationships, my career, my body, and my existence on the big blue ball despite my big nose, my slightly chubby tummy, my fifty-seven bad habits, my numerous issues, and my atrocious singing voice. I'm happy in my imperfection.
Article comments
1 - saint juanchos
What a great, great article. Everything you write is 100% true...
2 - Christopher Rose
I'm a perfectionist by nature but have slowly learned to be selective in my perfectionism. I guess that means I'm perfectly imperfect - or is it imperfectly perfect?
3 - Nancy
The root of all this can be squarely laid on the christian church, IMO. After all, wasn't it JC who said (or was reported to have said) "be ye perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect"? Of course, he was talking about spiritual perfection, not material perfection.