How does one relinquish ideals of perfection?

Question

Like in yourself.

Sometimes to the point to being hesitant to make a mistake. Like pronouncing a word in Spanish wrong, or acting out the emotions in a playscript accurately enough, etc.

Answer 1

It's tough! The need for perfection is crippling though. Yes the pursuit of excellence is admirable & it will motivate you to try your best & achieve great things. I always pushed myself to be the best in school & as a result was a straight A student winning many awards & medals however I made myself miserable & never felt good enough. If you expect perfection it may stop you from trying new things or taking risks because you don't want to make a mistake or look foolish. But you have to take risks in order to grow. We all make mistakes. If you're not making any then you're not taking risks!

At some point you just have to cut yourself some slack. Try your best but don't beat yourself up if you're not perfect. You are a valuable person regardless of what you can achieve.

I used to let my need for perfection keep me from trying things. Here's an example from my past: I bought a canvas & some paint & wanted to do a painting of the NYC skyline after my trip in 2000. I kept putting it off. I was afraid it wouldn't be good enough. I loved drawing but mostly did portraits not landscapes. I procrastinated because I was afraid that it would suck. Then the unthinkable happened. A horrible tragedy. So many lives lost. The skyline had changed. The twin towers had gone down. I couldn't believe it. I waited so long that now the towers which would have dominated my canvas no longer existed. I decided F*&% it. I was going to paint them anyway. I would do them in a silver shimmery fashion as though they were ghosts. I decided to do the painting because life is too short & what did I have to lose? Even if it sucked, who cares? I could paint over it if I didn't like it.

I did the painting & it wasn't quite what I expected. It was kind of quirky. I liked it. The buildings were like living breathing things (I tend not to like straight lines, I prefer organic shapes). I called it "Immortal Towers." They weren't really gone if we remembered them. Everyone seemed to like it. It inspired me to keep painting & I finished several canvases that year. I gave myself permission to make mistakes, not to be perfect. To just try.

Life is too short. You never know what can happen tomorrow. So seize the day. Whatever it is, try it! What do you have to lose? You don't have to be perfect.

Answer 2

For the spanish bit, the thing about language is the fact that there is more to it than accuracy, people notice everything, so just step forward with confidence.
Acting is just supposed to be heartfelt. If you are not confident then the audience will take note and lose interest. If you give emotion, even if its wrong, at least you give the audience something they can enjoy.

In general, confidence is priceless and people are more accepting of those who are. I say that if you always fear what may happen, then you can never enjoy life to its fullest. So if this question applies to you, then I ask to you to no longer worry and lift that weight that hinders most of society today. Much love and best of luck.

Answer 3

Best Answer: It's tough! The need for perfection is crippling though. Yes the pursuit of excellence is admirable & it will motivate you to try your best & achieve great things. I always pushed myself to be the best in school & as a result was a straight A student winning many awards & medals however I made myself miserable & never felt good enough. If you expect perfection it may stop you from trying new things or taking risks because you don't want to make a mistake or look foolish. But you have to take risks in order to grow. We all make mistakes. If you're not making any then you're not taking risks!

Answer 4

One should relinquish the concept of being separate from God. Perfections is attained through awaking to our union with God in unconditional love within the heart. "God dwells within you as you". See ll timothy 2-17 Perfect. john 17-23, matt. 5-48 perfect ephensians 4-4/6 God in you all, ephensians 4-13 unto perfect man. Perfection is a state of spirituality. Always strive for perfection.

Answer 5

well, you MUST become more confident in yourself, it's vital to who you are. however, never completely relinquish ideals of perfection, they are what keep you striving to make yourself a better person. don't let it get out of hand but realize that who you are matters.

the first step to becoming more confident, however, lies in discovering what makes you lack it, and although there may be many things, there is one main reason why you lack confidence, find that and work on it. with that, everything else will gradually come.

Answer 6

Hestiation in life is natural. As Humans what makes us human is our humanity...our flaws. Most women and some men have a complex of Little Miss Perfect. To embrace your flaws is a huge step to in learning exactly who you are. The key to remember is that you can't stop growing if you don't quit trying to improve yourself.

Answer 7

In people?
Accept that people are flawed and find the things that are good in them. A person who is beautiful to others is so much more attractive than one who looks gorgeous but is a mean to the core. The old cliche about inner beauty is correct in everything but porn and Hollywood.

Answer 8

To quote Jim Croce, "...traded love for pennies, sold my soul for less, lost my ideals in that long tunnel of time." Experience does it. You figure out how much emotional stress perfectionism is costing you, how much time and energy could be freed up by settling for 90% instead of 100%.

Answer 9

There's you. Then, there's the thoughts. Recognize this and you're all set.

Get it?

You. Mind. Most people identify with their mind, their emotions, their thoughts. Just observe. There's you, there's your mind. YOU don't have ideals of perfection. Those just occur in your mind. Let them be. Don't own them though.

Answer 10

Ideally, you wouldn't. Even though perfection is impossible, striving for it is a noble and worthy goal. Experience, however, will teach you when to recognize you must settle for less.