The Periphery Of Perfectionism

Perfectionism is often seen as a desirable trait in society. Modern society instinctively showers us with instructions to be wealthier, fitter and the elusive happier. After all, we want things to be top notch, don't we?

According to the writer Julia Cameron, perfectionism is not a quest for the best. Rather, It is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves, the part that tells us that nothing we do will ever be good enough - that we should keep trying again.

Despite the reality being that perfectionism is a trap that can lead to stress, anxiety, and a constant feeling of never being good enough. We expectedly steer clear of the ordinary as there's no fulfillment in that. Or is there? Are we caught in a sort of dilemma between perfectionism and the ordinary?

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Perfectionism Is A Trap

In my opinion, perfectionism is a good trap. The reason why I say good is because there's a favourable feature to it. This is captured by the saying from American football coach Vince Lombardi. He quoted that perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.

At its core, perfectionism is about wanting to do things perfectly, to be the best, and to achieve perfection in almost every aspect of life. Granted, this is an unrealistic and often unattainable goal that can lead to feelings of inadequacy and unnecessary failure, as no one can be perfect all the time.

However, a case can be made from Lombardi's statement about chasing perfection to catch excellence. The trick is that excellence might be easily recognizable but it is not so for perfection so we end up, for example, not seeing the trees(excellence) for the forest(perfection). The trap is finding the tree we're looking for (i.e excellence) and not being satisfied with it.

Yet We Shun The Ordinary!

Despite knowing that perfectionism is unattainable, we still tend to shun the ordinary in favor of the perfect.
We currently live in a world that glorifies perfection and looks down on imperfection. We're bombarded with images of perfect bodies, perfect homes, and perfect lives on social media, especially in the advertising space.

So it's no wonder we feel pressure to be perfect in everything we do, to catch up with the times. Making us in the process, cultivate a narrow-minded view of the world, where anything less than perfection is seen as a failure.

It's obvious that this is not true. Just because the Moon doesn't shine her own light but reflects that of the Sun makes her a failure.

A Dilemma?

It can be seen that way.
On the one hand, we know that perfectionism is unreachable and can lead to an endless string of feeling not good enough. While on the other hand, we live in a world that values perfection and often rewards those who seemingly achieve it. This creates a dilemma, where we feel the pressure to be perfect while knowing that it's not possible.

This dilemma can be particularly challenging in today's society and the standard it has created. However, It's important to note that these images portrayed by society are often heavily edited and do not reflect reality.

I believe the key to this dilemma is to find a balance between striving for excellence and accepting our imperfections, setting realistic goals for ourselves and work towards them without expecting perfection.

That way we can dance at the periphery of perfectionism without being caught up with the intoxicating music(that leads to nowhere) at the center.

Thanks for reading!! Share your thoughts below on the comments.