Summary

The article emphasizes the importance of embracing imperfection to lead a fulfilling life and achieve personal goals.

Abstract

The text "The Power of Imperfect" discusses the societal pressure to achieve perfection and the exhaustion it causes. It argues that perfection is unattainable and that our imperfections connect us as humans. Using examples from nature and personal anecdotes, the author illustrates that imperfection is not only acceptable but also beautiful and worth celebrating. The article encourages readers to let go of the pursuit of perfection and to start living, doing, and being imperfectly. It provides practical steps to embrace imperfection, such as joining a community, finding a coach, reading, researching, making lists, focusing on the process, starting small, smiling, celebrating silliness, maintaining a beginner's mindset, finding role models, practicing gratitude, and celebrating progress. The author, a life coach, aims to help individuals manifest the life they desire by shifting their perspective to find power in imperfection.

Opinions

The author believes that the societal expectation of perfection is unrealistic and harmful.
Imperfection is seen as a natural and beautiful part of life that should be embraced.
The pursuit of perfection can prevent individuals from starting new endeavors or from appreciating their own progress.
Embracing imperfection allows for personal growth, learning, and the enjoyment of life's journey.
The author suggests that by celebrating imperfection, individuals can overcome the fear of not being good enough.
The article posits that everyone, regardless of their current level, can improve and thrive by accepting their imperfections.
The author emphasizes the importance of community, mentorship, and continuous learning in the process of personal development.
The text encourages a mindset shift from outcome-orientation to process-enjoyment as a key to embracing imperfection.
The author advocates for gratitude and the celebration of small victories as means to appreciate one's imperfect journey.

The Power of Imperfect

It is waiting for you to embrace it. It is your life!

We are all wonderful, beautiful wrecks. That’s what connects us — that we’re all broken, all beautifully imperfect. — Emilio Estevez

There is a lot of pressure in our society to be perfect, isn’t there? We are blasted with media messages to look perfect, live perfect, be perfect children/employees/parents. It is very exhausting, frustrating, and overwhelming because we never get to perfect, do we? Many of us struggle and try to be perfect our whole lives. Whoa. Why do we allow ourselves to think this way? Act this way? Does this thought really serve us?

My husband has been renovating our bathroom. He is in the final stages of tiling around the tub. Yesterday, he spent a lot of time mumbling about how it was not right, not perfect. I told him that I only saw the beautiful, new, modern tiles that looked so pretty, not that there were slight mismatches in space between the tiles. We are going to put white grout between the white/grey tiles and the imperfect lines will “disappear”. He still felt bad.

So, I asked him, “Honey, when you look at me, do you see all my imperfections?” Of course he smiled and said, “Oh, no, honey.” (He was already starting to let go of this rigidness to be perfect.) We love nature, looking at it, walking in it. I asked, “When we’ve been walking in the woods, lately, do you see all the ways the trees are imperfect with gnarly trunks and asymmetric canopies?” We’ve actually been looking and commenting with awe and wonder at the beautiful woods in spring. He smiled and said, “No, I love them and see how great they are.” We’ve been watching some birds nesting on our front porch this spring and laughing at how lopsided the nest is. She has 3 baby birds that hatched yesterday. I asked, “When you look at our birds nesting and raising their babies, do you see all the imperfections?” “No”. We are seeing the magic of nature and other living creatures doing their thing imperfectly.

So, why as humans do we feel this pull to try and be perfect? We can’t be loved, lovable, and loving if we’re not? We all “know” this is not true as we look at the people in our lives that we love.

Maybe it’s time we apply that to ourselves.

Maybe it’s time to choose a different thought, a different story, a different way. A way that serves us better.

The more I feel imperfect, the more I feel alive. -Jhumpa Lahiri

What if we let go of perfection and embraced imperfection? What if we decided to celebrate our imperfection? What if we just decided to live imperfectly, do it imperfectly, and be imperfect?

There is power in imperfect, and here’s why.

Everyone starts as a beginner. Everyone starts not knowing how to do it. Everyone is unique. Everyone is different. Everyone in your life is imperfect. You are imperfect. We are each so imperfect, aren’t we? What if we decided to be okay with our imperfection and get on with living imperfectly?

There are things in your life you want to be better at, do better at, or just start at…. and there often is a little voice in your head that says you can’t, or won’t, or should be afraid because you can’t do it perfectly….

you don’t know how
you are too old, too young, too fat, too weak, too big, too poor
you are not enough
you don’t have enough money
you aren’t smart enough, pretty enough, wise enough
you could never do that
it’s too hard

But anyone who ever got good at anything started as a beginner. They started wherever they were. They started.

The people in this world who are thriving are doing it all imperfectly!

You can, too.

One of the basic rules of the universe is that nothing is perfect. Perfection simply doesn’t exist…..Without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist — Stephen Hawking

Do you have a goal, dream, or desire that you haven’t started, or started but got stuck?

What if you decided to do it imperfectly? Here’s how.

Join a community

Join a group or class that is doing it. Find a community that is doing it. Join. Participate. Start. Act.

Find a coach

Find a coach or mentor or teacher. Listen. Start. Act.

Read

Read a book, a magazine. Ponder. Start. Act.

Do research

Do research on the internet. Read everything you can about what you want to do. Get excited about it. Absorb. Start. Act.

Make a list

Make a To Do list. An action list. A list of questions to get answered. Act.

Focus on the process, not the outcome

Find ways to enjoy the journey. Enjoy the learning. Enjoy the discovery. Make it an adventure. Act.

Just start

Start wherever you are. Just start. Start. Act.

Do it in small doses

Start small. Smile at your baby steps. Celebrate the little things. Act.

Smile at yourself

Smile at how you do it imperfectly. Every time the voice in your head beats you up with negative self-talk about how stupid this is, replace the negative thought with a smile. Act with a smile. Smile. Smile more. Smile again.

Celebrate how silly beginners look

Celebrate how silly beginners look, do, be, act. Embellish the silliness. Laugh at the silliness. Dramatize the silliness. Share your silliness with others. Act.

Beginners mind

When you stumble, remember that everyone who is good at what you want to do/be/have, started as a beginner. Ask how would a beginner do this, feel, act? Start again. Keep going. Act.

Find role models

Surround yourself with role models. Read their stories. Talk to them. Be a role model for others. Even as a beginner, you can be a role model for others. Act.

Be grateful

Feel grateful for what you have accomplished so far, how far you’ve come, that you’ve started. Be grateful for your goal, what it has added to your life, who it has added to your life. Make a list of what you feel grateful for about your desire. Act.

Celebrate

Celebrate progress. Celebrate gains. Celebrate action. Celebrate small steps. Celebrate wins. Celebrate ah-ha’s. Celebrate your community. Celebrate your learning. Celebrate a positive thought. Celebrate your desire. Celebrate your excitement. Celebrate living the way you want to live.

Find the power of living, doing, being imperfect. It is a simple shift in perspective. It is waiting for you to embrace it.

It is your life!

Life isn’t meant to be lived perfectly…but merely to be LIVED. Boldly, wildly, beautifully, uncertainly, imperfectly, magically LIVED. -Mandy Hale, The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass

I am a life coach. I help others get really clear on the life and work they would love to have, know that they can have it, and help them manifest it. Visit me at https://www.lauraraduenz.com