Make Peace With Imperfection

I spend quite a bit of time talking about the power of Inner Peace and making peace with imperfection has been something I have learnt a lot about this year as I step out of my comfort zone, behind the scenes and become visible both in the public arena and online. It is so easy to stall, to falter, to procrastinate because whatever I’m putting out there into the world is not 100% perfect or I’m having a bad hair day or I stress because I haven’t yet found inspiration today to post another blog, and suddenly another week has gone without posting one.

Done is better than perfect

As I return myself to peace in those moments, I realise that one of the biggest things I am learning this year is “Done is better than perfect”, I’ve sent newsletters with typos, and made all sorts of “boo-boos” along the way and yet I now realise had I waited til everything was 100% perfect I’d still be in the starting blocks.

I’ve yet to meet an absolute perfectionist who is at peace with themselves and their surroundings. The need for perfection and the desire for inner peace don’t readily go hand-in-hand. Whenever we are attached to the idea of having something a certain way, better than it is currently, we engage ourselves in an impossible situation, where ‘shoulds’ rule and we’d rather be right about our fixed ideas, than happy with what is so. Rather than be~ing happy and grateful for what we do have, we are focused on what’s wrong, what we don’t have, what needs fixing and how others ‘should’ behave according to our set of rules. Essentially we are dissatisfied…and arguing with what is.

Happiness is Be~ing with what is so

Whether it’s related to ourselves and our frustrations with our ‘imperfections’, or a scratch on the car, an untidy desk, a bit of extra weight to shift – or someone else’s “imperfections” – we don’t like or agree with the way someone looks, behaves or lives their life – the very act of focusing on imperfection pulls us away from our goal of be~ing kind and gentle…and of course keeps us far from happiness. This has nothing really to do with ceasing to do our very best but with be~ing too attached and focused on what’s wrong with life.

Instead, it’s really about realising that while there’s always a better way to do something, an even better way of doing something is to do it from a space of inner peace, if for no other reason than allowing creativity to flow in peace.  In peace, we create space for be~ing able to enjoy and appreciate the way things already are. The universe won’t give us more of what we desire unless we’re already happy with what we do have…and from there, manifest more.

The Tyranny of Should

The solution here is to catch yourself when you fall into your habit of insisting that things should be other than they are. The word ‘should’ is a great indicator, an alarm bell to you…how many times a day do you hear yourself saying ‘should’? Jot it down…and notice how you feel when you believe that something or someone should be different. Gently remind yourself that actually, life is perfect right now, just the way it is. Removing your judgment from a situation or person creates space for life to be ok, just the way it is. As you begin to eliminate your need for perfection, you’ll begin to discover the perfection of life itself…and from there you can freely choose to create another outcome, to heal a relationship, shed the extra weight.

There is freedom and power in embracing peace and imperfection.