Perfection

                                                              PERFECTION


Strange, isn't it?  We all strive for perfection, some of us more than others.  Yet, none of us are anywhere near, PERFECTION.  We are Human beings, imperfect, in an imperfect world.

There are some people in this world, who expect perfectionism from themselves, expecting others to follow suit.  This, in my opinion, is a flaw, in and of itself, and I empathize with these people.  Can you imagine if that isn't a characteristic of your personality, how hard it must be to live with such high expectations of yourself, and others?

My purpose in writing this, is to help you know when to draw the line with yourself trying to be perfect, or others who expect perfectionism, from themselves.

 I feel that every single day, we must strive to be a better person.  We must grow internally, or our soul starts dying, and what we have left is a robot going through the motions.  Being a perfectionist, however, with yourself, or others, will eventually lead to failure, because you're human and imperfect and so are the people you interact with. 

This personality trait, is one step up the ladder, and anything, taken to an extreme, is usually harmful to one's internal growth.  As you read this, you're probably thinking of someone you know, or identifying with it, because you know you're a perfectionist.  There is a fine line between striving to be better, and working to achieve what you're capable of, growing, to the best of your ability, working towards goals for yourself rather than having "unrealistic" expectations, of yourself and others, to be whatever your definition is of  "perfect." 

The only thing perfect in this life is Jesus and God, and love.

If you're reading this, I would guess your car, office, and home, are immaculate. There is not a dish on the counter, a spot on the floor, a file out of place, a mess anywhere you can see, and if, for some reason you do see anything out of place, you immediately MUST fix it, whatever it is.  How is one able to achieve happiness in this world, with that mind set?

  I have a friend exactly like this, and I know the first time she invited me to her home.  As I walked through the front door, she asked me to take off my shoes and leave my socks on.  She acknowledged to me she was a perfectionist, and apologized, for being so. Everything in her home was immaculate, along with her carpet. 

 I remember the first time I even saw her office,  Everything in that office had a place!   It was the highest definition of immaculate, and honestly, I  thought of my "cluttered office", and what she would think of my dandy organizational skills.    

She became a friend of mine, and when she would go over to my house to visit, she would immediately suggest changing things in my house and I let that pass, because I am fairly easy going and felt I could use the advice.  Over time, She confided, in me, that no matter what she achieved, it never seemed to be enough.  I didn't have a problem with it, until she helped me get a job with the firm she worked for, and officially became my boss.

  I have to share with you, that my home, car and office were clean, but I am aware that I am not the most organized person.  Long story short, at the end of the day, my job was about sales.  I delivered, and in fact became one of the top performers with that company. 

I ended up taking a job offer with another company for several reasons; one of those, being her.  Business and personal don't mix well, and I had to draw the line, with her perfectionism overwhelming my imperfections.

Don't walk around in this ONE life you have, pretending to be someone you're not and striving for goals that you cannot achieve or trying to change another's goals and dreams.  On the other hand, when setting goals, make sure to challenge yourself, always moving towards growth. 


Why do many of us either pretend things are perfect, or worse, try to be?  God made us human, and humanity was never expected to be perfect.  Life is not about competition, but it can be about setting a goal to do your very best in the race.  You are the artist, life is your canvas;  you draw the picture.
God remains the Architect.
Ask yourself today, how real, are you?    Are you striving to be the person God designed you to be, or are you striving for perfection, and in denial to yourself, and others, about "who you are"?

In reality, we go through stages, in life, where we grow, and evolve if we are doing things, right, staying with God's architectural plan and yes, WRONG, along the way, the mistakes we make are our chance to learn a little more about who we are.  After all, we are all, "perfectly, imperfect".   SL