We all want our lives to be as smooth flowing, free-spirited and as flawless as humanly possible, but we all also know this is unobtainable. Bumps in the road are inevitable, and as much as we try to avoid the hurdles there will always be something there to make things more complicated. It doesn't have to just be in your day to day life, I'm also talking about relationships, friendships and even your occupation. If you set the bar way too high, nobody (including yourself) and nothing will ever meet that standard.
1. Let go of the idea that you're always failing.
Perfectionists have a tendency to overlook their successes in life when they haven't met their all-time goal, which then comes off as failure. Just because at age 19 you haven't sold a platinum album, became a nurse or solved world hunger doesn't mean that you won't one day. Stop rushing your time and stop beating yourself up. You aren't failing, there are baby steps and short-term obtainable goals that need to be set and met in order to climb the ladder of your dreams. Just because you aren't there yet doesn't mean you failed. And don't forget to reward yourself for the work you've already done.
2. Learn to master the Law Of Process.
Stop setting such high standards and unobtainable goals hoping that overnight they'll magically be reached. The Law Of Process is so important for a perfectionist to understand because it explains the vitality of taking things one step at a time, and teaches you to embrace and enjoy life's journey in the present moment. Perfectionists need to stop living in the next step, they have to sit back and enjoy where they are in the world at this exact minute. Masterpieces take time, getting to the top takes time. Trust in the process and your anxiety will decrease dramatically.
3. The only thing in the world that does not change is the fact that everything is always changing.
Outside factors like the weather, the people in your life and your interests are always changing. Learn to go with the flow and embrace the changes. We are incapable of controlling every detail of our life, so by accepting that we cannot control things like the weather it can be easier to learn to let go of control of your personal lives.
4. Learn how to take criticism.
You can't always be right. Nobody is attacking you so stop getting bitter and defending yourself. Just because you are being criticized doesn't mean you can throw a pity party. And, stop replaying the criticism in your head and just use it to become something greater. The ones criticizing you are 85% of the time trying to help you, so take it at face value. Sure there may be people out there prosily trying to knock you down, but take that negativity and turn it into positivity.
5. Imperfection is perfection.
There is so much beauty in the fact that nobody is perfect. If we were all perfect we'd be the exact same. The way someone's eyebrows aren't symmetrical, the way someone may eat like a mess. The way you embarrass yourself or screw up on the job. These are things that make humans, humans. Uniqueness and individuality are far more impressive and entertaining than someone who is so perfect they come off as a robot.
Learn to love the flaws within a person and within yourself. Your significant other is not going to be perfect at all hours of the day, and neither are you. Stop judging things and learn to love the fact that no matter how hard we can all try to be "perfect," we simply never will, and, that's perfectly okay.
