Striving for perfection

I had an interesting conversation with Lisa yesterday at a coffee shop about perfection. Why do people always strive for perfection? What is perfection? Who is perfect? What is perfect? Define perfect.

This question have been bothering me for many years. The older I got, the more I realized that people around me do whatever they can to be “perfect.” However, I never figured out exactly what people were perfecting themselves for. How did they come up with a standard for perfection?

Sometimes people from a city define perfection in a certain way. Sometimes an entire ethnicity defines perfection in a way to separate themselves from other ethnic groups in the world. Sometimes a family has a certain standard for perfection that separates them from other families. But in the end, perfection cannot be achieved. It can never be achieved naturally.

The moment you try to come up with a certain standard for the way of life and label it as perfect, then you inevitably end up with two groups of people: those who rebel and refuse to follow it, and those who spend their entire life lying to themselves in order to appear “perfect.” What is better? Living a lie, or living the life you want?

I think that is my problem. It is Lisa’s problem too, and many others as well. We grew up as individuals. We were taught to take responsibility for our actions, and for our life. We got educated, employed, and became useful to the world in order to feel like we are achieving something daily. Yet, when someone out there tells us that we must follow a standard of perfection, because it is the acceptable way in everyone else’s eyes, then what was the point of the former if the latter is the only way to be accepted?

People out there are different. I am not like you. You are not like me. We can never be. That’s just the way life is.

Naturally, I swayed away from perfection. Because the more someone told me that I have to follow the rules, the more I felt like a peace of my soul is being taken away. I understand that we all have to follow some type of rules in order to fit in culturally, but when can we tell others, “I had enough. This is not the way I want to live my life. I can’t live like this forever.”

So, I finally figured out why over 3 years ago I made this blog, and why I chose the word rebellious. I finally figured it out. I don’t like to be constrained to anything at all. I tried so hard to follow perfection, and I kept trying to do so year after year. However, I couldn’t. I just couldn’t lie to my self. Inevitably, the harder you try to tame a wild animal since the day it was born, the more of a savage beast it will become, and it will try to escape the unnatural settings in any way it can.

Striving for perfection, or thinking you are perfect, I don’t think it can ever be achieved. I think it is about time you tell your self that.

Advice, Random Thoughts, They said what?, Whatever!