Failure is not an option.
~Gene Krantz, flight director for Apollo 13
At some point, all of us what to be perfect. We want the perfect job, the perfect car, the perfect house, even the perfect family. As children, we were corrected when we did something wrong. So, obviously the goal was to do what was right and to do it right, all of the time. Most of us try, fail, try again, fail again but, some of us...well, some of us get stuck on the “fail” part.
The crazy thing is this: We, perfectionists know that we aren’t perfect. We also know that we aren’t even close. Unfortunately, that doesn’t keep us from trying. That also doesn’t keep us from failing. In our minds, failure is not an option and we do what we can to keep from arriving to that conclusion. We attribute failing to being a failure and that simply is unacceptable. It is easy for us to hit rock bottom on one failed attempt to do something and we usually land pretty hard. This sometimes leads to us not even attempting what we know we should do, because we are fearful that we will fail at doing it.
Ok, this doesn’t apply to you, right? I mean, you’re not a perfectionist...right? You may not consider yourself a perfectionist but check this out: The definition of a perfectionist (according to wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn) is simply a person who is displeased by anything that does not meet very high standards. Displeased, that’s not such a strong work. The definition didn’t say “hates” or “digusted with”...just “displeased”. Can you honestly say that-that has never been you? As Christians, we are taught to work within, live within, and to expect a “spirit of excellence”. We often take that to assume that excellence = perfection. But, is that really the case?
I performed a keyword search on the word “perfect” on biblegateway.com. I, of course, had quite a few results (forty-two in the New International translation, to be exact) and as I read, I found that most of the references were pertaining to God’s perfection. I really didn’t find where were are perfect. Nor did I find where we can become perfect in our own right. I DID, however, find scripture to support our becoming perfect through Jesus. So, what exactly does that mean?
Well, quite frankly, you can stop...well, we can stop our plight to be perfect. We are about as productive as a truck stuck in mud: the wheels are spinning but it is not moving anywhere. The more the accelerator is pressed, the more the wheels spin, the deeper the truck digs into the mud, making it harder to get out. Now, we can continue to dig OR we can call for help.
I’ve always noticed that when I’m stuck (and I’ve been stuck on the side of road many times...usually because I hate getting gas but, that’s for another blog), I experience a sense of relief once I know that help is coming. A heavy weight is lifted and all I have do is wait for the help to arrive.
So, this is my call to the perfectionists out there: LET IT GO! Call for help, sit down and wait. All you can do is what you can do. God created us to depend on Him and on each other. That just proves that there will be things that you CANNOT do alone. So, give yourself and those around you a break (I’m talking to myself, too). There’s so much more to life...like for instance...living. Be blessed.