Finding Grace—Choosing Yourself Over Perfection

Perfection is something most of us struggle with even on our best days. No matter how good you are and how much you achieve, there is always that nagging voice in the back of your head that says it’s not enough. Read on to discover how to find inner grace by choosing yourself over perfection.

Overcome Your Fear of Failure

At the heart of perfectionism lies a deeply rooted fear of failure, and overcoming this fear is the key to finding contentment. The first half of the equation is learning that it’s okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from them and that it’s okay to make a mess as long as you clean it up in the end. The second part is accepting that failure will happen sometimes.

Don’t Hold Yourself to Impossible Standards

For some, the ideal woman outlined Proverbs 31 is an inspiration, but she remains an impossible standard for others. It’s important to remember that this description of ideal womanhood was not, in fact, written for women. Proverbs 31 was advice from a mother to her son about the kind of woman he should seek, and we all know that no one can live up to a mother-in-law’s expectations. While it’s great to view her as an ideal to strive for, focus on how close you come rather than how short you fall.

Strive for Good, Not Perfect

It’s often said that perfection is the enemy of good. While it’s easy to throw in the towel when a project goes off the rails, remember that getting the job done is more important than doing the job perfectly. Instead of quitting, take a deep breath, pull yourself up by your bootstraps and see things through even if the final result isn’t exactly what you envisioned.

Celebrate Your Accomplishments

Try to be proud of your achievements even if you fall short of your ultimate goal. Let’s say you organized a fundraiser for your church’s women’s shelter. You set a goal of $10,000 but only raised $8,000. The perfectionist in you might feel defeated, but realize that you gave a valuable organization $8,000 it didn’t have before and celebrate that. Goals are great, but don’t let them get in the way of accomplishing good things.

When you feel overwhelmed, remember that life is a journey and all of us are learning and improving every day. Instead of perfection, make your daily goal to be better than you were yesterday. Your personal best is more than good enough.