Well... here it is. You might wonder what would provoke me to post this photo of me (after a hard day of office work, with hair that used to have bangs but is now somewhere "in between", holding a sign that reads "I'm too Awesome to be perfect.") the answer lies below:Brene Brown (the beautiful author and Blog goddess of Ordinary Courage) is spearheading the "Perfect Protest". You should pop over and read about it and participate!! But first, of course, read this.
As I walked home last night, I pondered the meaning of perfection. And the distinction between striving for excellence and the pursuit of perfection.
I'll start with the premise that perfection is unattainable. To have a goal that is unattainable gives you permission to never try, to constantly bemoan that nothing ever works out, that you are incapable, worthless... As Brene says:
"Perfectionism is a twenty-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, it’s the thing that’s really preventing us from taking flight."
Excellence, on the other hand, is something you can accomplish in only one way- hard work and practice. If you give yourself permission to be a beginner, to be "not the best" then you have the chance to play and practice and get good at something. You can fly! (so to speak- don't go jumping off the carport roof.)
What is so alluring about perfect then? When I thought about perfection, what came to mind was this: a perfectly round, smooth, white sphere. and I thought what would I do if I found this perfect thing, laying here on the ground? I would pick it up and inspect it, turning it, thoroughly scrutinizing every inch of it. Why? I am looking for the imperfection, of course!! We do that to ourselves, each other, every situation- we scrutinize, analyze, ferret out the imperfection, so that we can proclaim "Aha! not perfect" What is the point of that? To make ourselves feel better (see, she isn't perfect either), to shield ourselves from new experiences (well, if I can't be a concert pianist the first time I sit down, forget it)? If you think about it, our imperfections are what make us unique. If I found a basket full of perfect white spheres, I wouldn't be able to tell them apart, they would be perfectly, well... perfectly boring!
I have battled that disapproving voice in my head for years. You know it- it's that little voice that pipes up when you get excited about doing something new. It says needly little things like
"you really think you can do that?"
"you know EVERYBODY else is better at that than you"
"Come on, you are too fat, old, short, tall, (insert your excuse here) to do that".
Some days I win the battle, some days, not so much. It's okay, another imperfection that I am willing to embrace :)
So, I challenge you. I challenge you to breathe deeply, look in that mirror and say "I am not perfect, and that is okay. In fact it is AWESOME!"
and post your not perfect picture. I did, double chins and all!!!
