Perfection in a Pandemic? Why Letting Go is the Key to Surviving and Thriving

Perfection and Pandemic Can’t Coexist

Wedding fails, news anchor fails, blooper reels, we’ve seen them all. Someone slips and falls on shows like America’s Funniest Home Videos and there’s no end to our giggles.

Someone else’s misery is always amusing to watch. But, here’s the strange thing that’s happening thanks to the Pandemic. Now, we can all be a part of all those epic fail videos we love to watch.

And, that my friend, is the wholesome truth.

Corona has come and lowered the collective standards of what we can accomplish in a Zoom meeting. Or even in a day while managing kids, cooking and work. Our daily grind has become a series of missteps and firsts at best.

Great Things Can Come Out Of Misery

Yet, somehow, we’re navigating this time with one quality that has continued to define our humanity.

We’re being patient with our coworkers on Zoom calls, we’re cutting ourselves some slack with our to do lists, and we’re letting our children just be. Because we don’t have anything to compare our current life to, we’re just giving and looking and looking for helpful ideas. Any stranger’s meaningful gesture is teaching us how we can do something nice for another one. No one is ours and we’re no one’s laughing stock.

Strategies To Embrace Our Imperfections

Progress not Perfection:

Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, but he also filed some 2300 other patents in his lifetime, majority of which remained obscure and unimpressive inventions. Bottom line, be free of judgment – of what you should be doing and where you should be at on the path. Keep moving without applying the brakes of self-doubt.

Your daily assignment is incomplete? Submit it. Your hair is messy? Be kind to it. Your kids are raising themselves? Thank them for their compassion and understanding. Have a looming deadline. Communicate your situation to the party who’s expecting results. Everyone understands.

Relying on Unconditional Acceptance:

Why look for our identity in others’ approvals when we can fill ourselves up with unconditional acceptance? Why do we marvel at others while endlessly dwelling on our own possibilities? We can all redeem ourselves and start all over again – today! But, only if we believe we’re redeemable.

In some situations, we tell ourselves stories that are not true. They’re called IRRATIONAL FEARS. Be a reckless optimist. March forward no matter what. We put in the effort and let go off doubt. Simple. We’re not perfect, and so is no one else.

Embrace Self-Compassion:

When we’re brooding our past, our present is holding our future hostage. It’s all about progress my dear, not perfection. Have high expectations but low standards so we can get started on our mission!

We all crave a sense of order, balance and calm in a world of information overload. And in this daily pursuit, we find ourselves even more lost. By adopting a compassionate approach to ourselves, we can stop chasing the perfect version of life that doesn’t really exist. We can stop the overwhelm and anxiety that are byproducts of our daily grind.

Keep Moving Forward:

Ask yourself, right now, what is preventing you from having a strong sense of wellbeing. It’s mostly our thoughts of being wronged or ignored by people we cared for or love dearly. But, how can you decide the intent in their actions without knowing their full truth.

Your ideal life is quite different than what’s possible with so many unpredictable parameters in your real life. So, you didn’t read a book and tuck the kids into bed tonight or were not able to pack lunch that morning. Cut your losses and move on. Make tomorrow a better day! Try this. Lower your expectations every time you’re going somewhere or doing something for the first time. You’re guaranteed to have a golden time. Perfection is not progress.

Pathway to Mastery:

The most predictable path to quality is quantity – but many people fail to achieve originality because they develop one or two ideas – then obsessively refine them trying to reach some kind of perfection. ~ Adam Grant

How many hours of practice do you think a figure skater endures before getting the perfect swirl, or the graceful leap. Ask Michelle Kwan, a figure skater, who once said, “Learning to skate means falling down over and over and over again.”

The point is that this time in our lives is the best one to repackage our services. It’s the best time to reengineer our products. It’s a great time to stop to listen what our clients truly want and what we want out of our lives.

So, go on, live your life. You’re trying your best already! There’s no better time to be imperfect!

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