Can we say that perfection is complete, absolute, certain, and immutable……but, therefore, is it “boring”, always the same, without strong emotions?
Personally, I share the consideration that perfection should not be demonized, far from it, in some cases it should be pursued and becomes a priority.
In fact, there are some situations in which perfection is important, in which the error is not allowed, and the mistake is irreparable. These are the contexts in which perfection must be cultivated as a value, in which it becomes a duty, our precise responsibility. Contexts in which human lives depend (directly or indirectly) on our actions, in which our choices and our words to some extent influence the existence of others. Or again, contexts in which the performance of others depends on our precision and punctuality.
On the other hand, I absolutely disagree with those who argue that accepting imperfection is a sort of excuse for not doing our best. I think exactly the opposite: imperfection is not the value to be cultivated to accept lower standards, to set less important and challenging goals, to accept the “mentality of sufficiency”, contenting ourselves with “living 99%”. It is the exact opposite: it is the training ground for facing and accepting failure because if we continue to refuse to make mistakes and to be imperfect, we will never be able to experience our imperfections as a springboard toward improvement.
A valuable scholar argues that accepting failure means giving us an excuse to be lazy!! I believe instead that it is equivalent to stop resisting the reality of the facts, to stop wasting energy on whipping ourselves because we have made mistakes and failed, instead starting to use all our resources to roll up our sleeves.
Being lenient with oneself does not mean giving oneself an apology, it means not wasting one’s time and resources in condemning oneself, it means not living according to a judgment, but for a goal.
Accepting imperfection doesn’t mean it is a resignation, nor self-indulgence or self-pity. It is welcoming every part of us, becoming aware of who we are and our limits. And, at that point, we will finally have to deal with a really strong motivation and drive to action, because we will be free from feelings of inadequacy, shame, guilt, and limiting thoughts and we will be more result oriented and aware.
After all, if we reflect on it, while in life we tend to emphasize the positive dynamics (joy, euphoria, fun, enthusiasm), sadness, melancholy, desire or disappointment are underestimated.
In reality, life has a “bittersweet taste” that sooner or later we have to get used to, expressing the ability to appreciate and accept the imperfection of the world around us, because it is extremely difficult to be happy without accepting that these are the rules of the game. , regardless of whether we wish they were different.
Perfection almost needs to never be realized, to remain an unattainable horizon, a potential, reached only episodically.
What is necessary for our life, much more than a perfect world, is the dream of being able to realize it. It is this dream that feeds day after day the emotion of living, learning, discovering, trying, and trying again. And it is this dream that nourishes our self-esteem, of believing that the self we are today can be better tomorrow, of believing that the self of now has the possibility, even though it may never come true, to become the dream we have of us.
This is why it becomes difficult to live serenely in a time in which the hope that tomorrow can be better than today perishes.
We are left with only the imperfection, which, alone, is not always a company that helps you feel good.
I greatly appreciate your support and encouragement. And thank you for adding your insights always most appreciated.
Very balanced post and discussion of perfections and impefections in life, Aldo.
Reading this “In fact, there are some situations in which perfection is important, in which the error is not allowed, and the mistake is irreparable. ”
You remind me of our complex world and the butterfly effect. In a complex system even a minor error leads to different trajectories. Attaining perfection is almost impossible.
But this is where the beauty is. Nature is complex and it keeps adapting to make a better system. It never fails to try again.
Imperfection helps nature to keep learning. It is a positive driving force.
I agree with you that imperfections are to encourage us to keep trying and not submit. This is life.