Successful Women Don't Try to Be Perfect — Here's 4 Things They Do Instead

Let’s do a simple exercise. Ready?

Think of a perfect person or thing. It could be your baby, a flower, a holiday spot or a loved one. 

 Now, think about how it makes you feel. Happy? Calm? Next, can you think of any flaws around this person or thing?

No? It’s quite alright. You think they’re perfect.

This is why we seek perfection. We wish to be happy, calm and feel beautiful, yet we easily forget the price we all pay for being perfect or craving perfection. 

All this time, imperfection is free and makes us feel just as—if not more—content, happy, calm and beautiful.

So, what’s the play in perfection? And imperfection?

We all have that one friend or colleague who has it all. But are we the friend or colleague who has it all? We tell ourselves we aren’t, that we’re far from it or don’t have what she has. That’s the bar we set. You see, according to us, others have it all figured out. 

What we have to understand is that imperfection is not – settling for less, selling yourself short, setting low standards, expecting others to appreciate or understand low performance, not pushing yourself to do better or accepting abuse from others.

With this in mind, here are four ways we can embrace our imperfections.

1. Don’t get defensive.

It’s easy to ask, “How dumb of me?” or “What’s wrong with me?” when someone points out your obsession over perfection. Don’t get upset or angry or sad. This doesn’t mean you take slights lying down, but don’t get perturbed by criticism.

2. Take small steps every day.

You might be saying, “This can’t be done. Forget it!” Yet the moment we perceive a big daunting task, we invite fatigue. Take small steps instead.

3. Allow yourself to go back to your old habits for a while.

“I can still work on this longer.” “I don’t want to be shamed for this.” Instead of beating yourself down, allow yourself to go back to your old habit for a while. When you’re ready, bounce back and you’ll be more prepared to achieve your goals.

4. Know that there’s no good or bad.

Your achievements are worth what you think they are. There’s no good or bad. You can’t be proud of yourself every day, all the time. 

Here’s art for thought: Kintsugi is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces bound by powdered gold, silver or platinum. Isn’t it beautiful? Putting the broken pieces together along with a touch of glitter – sheer poetry. 

And don’t you play a psychologist now and start that self-blame journey. You’re you – you’re wow. Embrace your imperfections. You owe it to yourself. 

Angelica Tara is a writer catering to B2B/B2C marketing and is active on LinkedIn and Medium. Angelica writes on “all that is me, plus x. Where x is equivalent to all that makes an impact, personally or professionally.”