not being perfect

pboy

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Jan 22, 2013
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I realized today that no matter what I do, learn, read, change, how much discipline I have, it always ends up at the same conclusion. I've come to terms that perfection is silly to even strive for, and in fact not being perfect, not even just accepting it, embracing it, is better for my mood, metabolism, and life in general. I mess things up, I indulge, Im spontaneous, and I don't care if tomorrow everything changes
 

HDD

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Good word, pboy. And no one else is or ever will be perfect either. Part of our human nature. Flawed. :D
 

Dan W

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Jan 22, 2013
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Along the same lines, I'm trying to drill into myself the habit of calmly choosing a "pretty good" thing to do with each moment, rather than idealizing the past or future.
 

4peatssake

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I think striving for perfection is a noble endeavor- it is expecting or demanding perfection that creates chaos and conflict because it is impossible.

Mistakes are part of living and growing and I love the concept that within every failure is the seed of success. Reminds me of Thomas Edison being asked by a reporter if he felt like a failure, not having yet successfully invented the light bulb after thousands of attempts.

“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”
Shortly after he said this, he found the right formula and voila, the light bulb came to be.

So while he continuously strove for perfection, he never even considered what didn't work to be a failure.

“Negative results are just what I want. They’re just as valuable to me as positive results. I can never find the thing that does the job best until I find the ones that don’t.”
Quite a positive mind set!

The same concepts can be applied to ourselves too, in terms of our individual effort and daily lives. In some areas, I'm content with slow and steady improvements and in others growth and forward movement naturally comes quicker. It's all part of the adventure of life!

Edison also said this:

“If we all did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves.”
Sometimes I think people are more afraid of their potential for genius than their potential for failure.

@Dan - I agree about living in the now. It's all there is! ;)
 

juanitacarlos

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Dec 31, 2012
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couldn't agree more pboy. when I strive for perfection, I get paralysed by the fear of failing. nothing get's done. better to try your best and improve when you can, in your own way.
 

Dan W

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Jan 22, 2013
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Based on a few of your posts, pboy, I think you and I may have a similar personality. So I thought you might like this book: The Underachiever's Manifesto. It's written jokily, but was surprisingly profound for me. I reread it every year or so to fight worrying about "not being perfect".
 

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