Throughout life, we encounter many things that we want to do and be perfect at. This could include having the "perfect appearance," "perfect body," the "perfect diet," the "perfect friend," the "perfect sister," and even just a "perfect life" in general. We all want these perfect things, but is perfection really possible? You're going to have to wait a long time if you think perfection is really achievable. Once you get to one point that you thought was perfection, your perception changes and you see something different that looks more perfect. What if we all just strived for progress instead?
The "perfect appearance"
Many people strive for the "perfect hair," "the perfect makeup," the "perfect tan," the "perfect teeth," or anything else appearance wise. If a person wants to do their hair or maybe they don't want to, it is up to that individual. One person is not more "perfect" than the other for wearing makeup or not wearing makeup. People even go as far as to getting surgery, things tattooed on, and permanent makeup put on just for "perfection." If it is something that you truly want to do to feel better about yourself and your self-conscious then that's fine, but doing it to be "perfect" won't get you very far. Society sees "perfect appearance" as having yourself all done up; by having your hair done, you makeup done, having a good tan, or many other things. This is not true at all. There is no perfect way to have your appearance, it is all up to the person and what they like. That's what makes everyone unique.
The "perfect body"
Getting the "perfect body" is something that many people strive for. What if I told you there is no "perfect" body? Every person is different and that means every person's body is meant to be a certain way. Yes, you can work to make it a body that you want, but even if you get to a good point you still might not see it as "perfect" and push your body too far. By just going off of what you see in the media and that version of a "perfect body" you may be lead to problems, such as self-confidence problems. If you want to work your body hared and you will go through struggle, work to get progress and getting yourself better, not perfection.
The "perfect diet"
When eating, some people try and eat healthy and others avoid junk food and eat what they want. Neither of these is the "perfect diet," there's no such thing as a perfect diet. The "perfect diet" is what you want to eat. I might eat healthy most days but then slip up and eat junk food on certain days. This doesn't mean my diet isn't "perfect" anymore. My diet is exactly what I needed and wanted at the time. It is all about exactly what a person wants to eat.
The "perfect friend" or the "perfect sister or brother"
In our lives we want to be the person that is the "perfect friend," the "perfect brother or sister," the "perfect parent," or anything other roles in our lives. Most people want to be the "perfect friend" to people; they want to be the person that their friend is always there for, the one that they can hangout with and see all the time, and be able to tell them anything. This isn't always as easy as it sounds. Almost every time friends mess up and do something they shouldn't have or the friends just get in an argument, this makes the relationship not "perfect." Nobody needs to have a "perfect friendship," they just need a good friendship.
Most parents want to be the "perfect parent," but there is no such things as a "perfect parent" either. There are many different parenting styles and one person may thing think their parenting style is "perfect", while another person think their parenting style is "perfect." One parenting style might work on one kid but won't work on another, this just shows that there isn't a perfect parenting style.
The "perfect life"
People want their whole lives to be "perfect." People want the "perfect" job, husband or wife, home, family, and everything else. It is okay to want great things in life but, things don't always work out as we plan. We will come across difficulties, such as not finding the right person, not having enough money for a good house, or not being able to have kids. If you plan to have all of these "perfect" you can get easily disappointed when you don't get them. The "perfect" lfe is just an image that people put in their heads that is most likely not going to come true.
If you strive for perfection, you will be wasting your time and waiting a long time. We're human, we're all different. If we were all perfect we would all look and act the same way and that's boring. You have to struggle to get perfection and that's what life is all about. Everyone should work very hard to achieve progress but achieving for perfection isn't worth it.
Here are some people that believe in progress not perfection. If you would like to join the movement, post on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and post using #progressnotperfection and a picture of yourself.
Abby Engel
Marissa Michalski
Kristina Woehlke
Nicole Papas (Me)
