Stop Pursuing Perfection, Its a Trap

Stop Pursuing Perfection, Its a Trap Obsessing over perfection can be a career killer. Its a downward spiral;  the more you apply pressure on yourself to achieve unrealistic goals, the more youll let yourself down and the  lower youll feel.  Constantly failing  to live up to your own expectations will set you up for a lifetime of feeling second-rate. If you want to feel proud and positive about your professional life,  its time to  do away with this  idea of perfection and focus on the possibilities within your own potential, instead. Perfection doesnt exist Everyones idea of success and happiness is different. On top of this, we all have different skills, strengths and weaknesses. If our career is  a giant race, then everyones starting blocks are staggered and there are a million and one different finishing lines.  Realising that  perfection is just an idealistic dream (and completely unattainable) is a liberating moment. Perfection is like the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow you can never reach it. Even when we do achieve  our goals, there is always more we could do  or ways we could be better. In an instant,  that pot of gold feels far away again. Its a never-ending cycle of wanting, trying and  always coming up short. Your career is something you create for yourself, and something you should feel proud of.  Shifting your desire to find enjoyment in your vocation is better than lusting after the mirage that is perfection. People dont care Another really comforting conclusion to draw is people  dont care about your imperfections, if it doesnt really affect them. Your boss just wants you to do a good job, and your colleagues want someone who they can achieve great things alongside. Everyone has their own issues that theyre working through; youre not alone.  The more you talk badly about yourself and consistently bring your imperfections under the spotlight,  the more youll make others reflect upon  how they arent perfect, and theyll start feeling self conscious too.  As well as this, forever pointing  out your own shortcomings just highlights to people all the  ways you could be better, not how great you already are. Having said this, its important not to be ashamed at having flaws. Demonstrating signs of  weakness  actually just proves youre human and makes you relatable. People will feel more comfortable around you, knowing that you arent up on your high horse looking down, judging them in the same way youve so harshly been judging yourself. Its all about what you decide to make your sole focus. Learn from your mistakes Analysing your mistakes over and over again wont get you anywhere. However, understanding where you went wrong and how you can avoid a similar occurrence next time is the far healthier alternative.  Being able to deal with an error then and there, take a lesson from  it and move on will make you stronger, and better at what you do. Reminding yourself that nobody is perfect and everybody makes mistakes  is also a way of helping you move on, and let the past go. Focus on what you can  control Throughout your career  therell always be expectations placed  upon you. Its up to you to weed out unrealistic  expectations from the  things that lie within your potential, and quit beating yourself up about situations you have no control over. Instead of  stressing about scenarios you really cant change, invest your energy into areas you actually have a shot at improving. Giving yourself the opportunity to have small  wins is  the best way to boost your mood and keep you feeling positive and productive as your work towards realising your longterm dreams. Create  realistic goals Instead of striving for something completely subjective that has no end point (like perfection), why not focus on  things we can actually  measure our success against? Stop anxiously pulling apart ways youre  not up to scratch or ways you  wish you  were wired differently, and start identifying weak areas you can work on. Letting go of this  need for perfection doesnt mean letting go of all ambition  and  becoming a drifter. It just means  turning your attention to realistic goals, and shifting your  mindset away from a toxic lust for success. Instead of trying to achieve perfection, focus on achieving  your own personal bests. Perfection shmersh-mecshon. As soon as  you stop reaching for the impossible,  youll realise how many amazing possibilities there really are.