Many of my clients suffer from what I call the “perfection trap.” This sneaky pit is easy to fall into when you are trying too hard to do everything just right. When you over-worry about failure or looking bad, you back yourself right into the devious clutches of “it’s never good enough” – and never done.
What is the easiest way to fall into it the perfection trap? By comparing yourself to someone else.
The biggest problem with the perfection trap is that it is difficult to escape. Some people live their whole lives inside of it. From the inside, it seems that everything is more difficult and personal connections are complicated. There is a vague sense of longing for more ease, more passion, but the harder you claw your way towards it from inside the trap, the further away it seems.
The world outside the perfection trap is messier. There is more space for error and exploration…and creativity! Your relationships are more authentic because people can come closer to you. You are willing to try and learn new things – and even fail – creating more possibility in your life.
How do you escape this tricky trap?
Accept yourself right now, just as you are and be willing to grow. Your imperfections make you who you are instead of a photocopy of an unachievable ideal. Everything you have been through, every sag and scar, your disappointments, quirks and fears, all tell an important story about your experience during your lifetime.
Your true nature shines through only when you are willing to stand in the open.
I have a gift for you: There is nothing wrong with you. You might have some problems, but that is a natural part of being human. How you learn and grow from your challenges, rather than hide in the shade of perfection, is the beauty of you.
“Ring the bells that still can ring, forget your perfect offering, there is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.”— Leonard Cohen
