You aren't perfect. Neither is that guy you Facebook stalk everyday or that girl from your high school who models now. We've become so obsessed with the idea of perfection. It has suddenly reached a point where it's now a negative influence in most aspects of our lives. Compliments are usually given in some rendition of "you're like, so perfect" and our perspective of this concept is begging for a change.

Perfection by definition is "the condition, state, or quality of being free or as free as possible from all flaws or defects." But "free" is probably one of the last things we feel when we focus so much of our time and energy striving for it. Perfect is just another opportunity to pick at our flaws and compare ourselves to one another.

“Perfectionism is not a quest for the best. It is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves, the part that tells you that nothing you do will ever be good enough - that you should try again.” - Julia Cameron

We're all too familiar with the age-old phrase, "nobody is perfect". While we are well aware that we can never fully be perfect in the true sense of the word, we can certainly try to get as close to it as we can. There is nothing wrong with bettering ourselves or doing the best we can, but when we try so hard to be perfect, we come to realize that perfection is a moving target.

It's so hard to remember that we feed into this negative perspective of perfection when all of our Instagram comments mention someone being "so perf". Compliments are great, give them generously and genuinely, but we've gotta stop feeding into false pretenses. This is where we have to change our language. Make someone else feel beautiful just because they are who they are, because they're witty, have really cute hair, or suggest good movies. You don't need to be perfect. You will never be perfect, you are enough.

The only one with any claim to perfection is God. And we are perfect in His eyes because He created us with something extraordinary in mind. But worldly perfection and Godly perfection are two very different ideas. Worldly perfection is ideal, desirable, and ultimately unattainable. It is never going to happen, but it doesn't matter because you are you, and that alone is pretty awesome.

Wanting to be "perfect" becomes a problem because it makes us think that we fall short, we aren't quite good enough. God wants us to love ourselves as we are because we were created in His image. You aren't perfect, but you are His.

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

Psalm 139:13-14