Little Miss Perfectionist

Since I was little, unknowingly I began to strive for perfection. I didn't need everything I did to be perfect initially. However, over time, I began to subconciously expect perfection in every task I was to do - small, large, time consuming or quick. Soon enough, if something I did was not to my level of perfection, I would get frustrated. I would spend the next hour to two hours on something that should have taken half an hour, just to "perfect" it. This need for perfection generated great amounts of stress because it would throw off my daily schedule for work, assignments and studying. I even started striving to be "perfect". I was stressed every day due to this, until, as cheesy as this may sound, one day I wanted to deal with it.

Perfection, it doesn't exist. Not only in terms of oneself, but even in the work we do, the work we submit. This can be controversial but, I strongly believe this to be true. Perfection isn't what we should strive for. Instead, we should strive for doing our absolute best. This realization, this simple change of thought, changed my outlook on every task given to me. And, it changed how much unnecessary pressure I put on myself while striving to be this so-called "perfect" person.

After I realized this, implementing it into my life and engraving it into my brain was a long process. It's still being worked on. Everyday. However, my need for perfection decreased (to be honest, slightly but that's still a start) and my need to just do the absolute best I can and be the best I can be increased. So, life has been a little less stressful. Now I fall asleep every night content that today, I did my best and what ever the result may be, I'll accept it. Why? Again, because I did my best.

For all you other perfectionists out there and I know I'm not the only one (cue "I'm Not the Only One, by Sam Smith), allow yourself to not be perfect for once. Allow yourself to just do your best and see if and how this changes things for you.