Mark Twain has been credited with saying, “Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.”
To look at me and the way I do things you would never guess that I have a streak of the perfectionist curse coursing through my being. For most of my life I never suspected it of myself. However, the more I learned of this personality trait, the more I understood some of my actions.
One of the marks of a perfectionist is that they often do not attempt things or give up on them quickly. The reason for this is that, because of their nature, they cannot stand the thought of not being able to do something perfectly the very first time.
I can look back over my life and see so very many projects, plans, and dreams that either never left the idea stage or, at most, died shortly after leaving the starting gate. I just knew that I could not follow it through with absolutely no flaws, so I either never started it to begin with or abandoned it quickly after the beginning. And with this being the case time after time my self-doubt grew, and confidence suffered.
Am I describing you? Not everyone has this problem and I gaze so enviously on those who can just charge ahead learning as they go and empowered by the old maxim, “Practice makes perfect.” But you may be where I am. If so, this is for you.
At the time of this writing, I am 66 years old. I am still very much plagued by this condition. But with this new understanding of what is going on, I now am able to deal with this in a better way. When I fail at accomplishing something I no longer sink nearly as often nor as low into the pit of self-loathing. This is part of who I am. It is neither right nor wrong. It is simply what is and all of us have obstacles to overcome in our being.
I also am committed to making slow progress in a positive direction (as per the above quote). I am slowly developing the ability more during whatever time is still allotted to me to cheering my progress and forgiving myself for the times I don’t make it. As Scarlett O’Hara said at the end of “Gone With the Wind,” “Tomorrow is another day.” I will try again.
I hope that if you are someone who struggles with this issue you can find some
encouragement and direction to do the same. You are unique and special. You have strength and ability of which you are not even aware. I believe in you!
You are loved. Peace.
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