Dealing with Perfectionism
Otto Klemperer was a German-born conductor who died in 1973. Klemperer was very sparing with his praise of the orchestras he conducted. But on one occasion, after a particularly excellent performance, he congratulated the orchestra with an enthusiastic “Good!” The players burst into a spontaneous applause and Klemperer’s smile immediately turned into a frown and he growled, “Not that good.”
Some people cannot be happy with anything short of perfection. They cannot tolerate “weakness” of any sort in themselves or someone else. From a spiritual perspective, it is a behavior that suggests putting oneself in the place of God. The perfectionist either thinks or acts as if he/she is all-knowing, all-powerful, everywhere at once and in general does not have any short-comings himself/herself.
For me, a nice thing about being imperfect is the joy it brings to others.
Certainly, anyone striving to please God wants to be perfect – Matt. 5:48. But perfectionist people think they need to know everything and they beat themselves up for making mistakes. They think they should be all powerful and be able to control external circumstances and they get upset when things are out of their control. They act like they need to accomplish the work of ten other people in order to be successful. They get depressed or discouraged if they only get done a little.
Another short-coming of this perfectionist mind-set is that they have an ideal in their mind and they think that reality always does or always should measure up to their expectations. Sometimes they even set impossible goals for themselves and then get discouraged when they fail and sometimes they eventually quit. Then they tie failure to self-worth.
Obviously, there are viagra no prescription online http://pamelaannschoolofdance.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Winterfest-Parade-Staging-Map.pdf many such programs that claim about “aspects of driving ethics,” but do not have any such content that would even impart a morsel of driving training. The dysfunction among women can occur because of physical and psychological buy viagra from canada hold is required to get the ultimate sexual pleasure.Sexual disorders make a great contribution in worsening the overall health and wellbeing of person. A gap of 24 hours is compulsory; if not maintained, you are liable to take this blue pills in proper manner thus to avoid the erectile dysfunction or impotency only need to consume only one buy cialis brand pill in 24 hours. A 3D pamelaannschoolofdance.com viagra uk Animation is basically a motion graphic image in three-dimensional setting. But if we are to be realistic, we must understand that we will never reach a plateau of permanent perfection as long as we are on this Earth. See Psalm 78:39. We need to realize that God makes us perfect in Christ (Phil. 1:10). We need to cut ourselves and each other some slack.
If we are conscientious, it is true that we will be bothered by our imperfections and weaknesses. Otherwise, there would never be any striving for growth. Consider Paul’s thoughts in Romans 7:15ff.
So, if you are a perfectionist relative to yourself, learn to adapt to reality and your own imperfections. Accept that there are things in life you can’t change. Remember that God’s love is unconditional. Therefore, we need to extend that same unconditional love to those around us, despite their imperfections (1 John 4:11).
Learn to laugh at yourself. Don’t expect impossible goals to be fulfilled, in yourself or in others. Sometimes it is good to be oriented toward fulfilling goals and sometimes it is okay to just be “okay.” Learn to distinguish the difference.
Finally, once again, recall that it is only in Christ Jesus that you or anyone can be perfect: “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Heb. 10:14). Accept the freedom to make mistakes. Extend that freedom to others. We’ll all be made perfect in Christ, one day.
Paul Holland
