I want to be perfect. Like really bad. I want to be a machine. I want to eat only the perfect foods, exercise every single day without missing a day, and I want my music to be the best music on the planet. I strive for these things every single day. And then one day it hit me...
I will never be perfect.
Dangit. You know how hard that is to hear when you are a perfectionist? I think I went through all the steps of grieving after realizing this, especially DENIAL. It took me years to finally believe and understand that I would never be perfect. But what took me even longer to digest was that it's ok to not be perfect! It really is. You can still be great and not be perfect. As a matter of fact, we are meant to be flawed. It's what gives us character. It's what makes us interesting. And it's what drives us to be better. Can you imagine a world of only perfect people? How annoying would that be?! When you really think about it, that sounds awful. That is not the world I would want to live in. So why do I expect myself to be perfect?
Instead of perfection, I strive for greatness. I strive to learn every day. To grow every day. To surround myself with great people every day. To me, that is perfection. That IS the world I want to live in.
So I have learned to forgive myself when I make a mistake. To laugh when I say something "stupid." To learn from criticism instead of giving up. And all these things truly make a perfect life. And I think that is what I really was striving for all these years anyway. I love my flaws. I love the funny little things that make me me. I love laughing at myself. And I love the opportunity to grow every day. I've truly come to love being perfectly imperfect.
Now THAT is perfection. :)
Chris Swan
Founder and CEO
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