How to Accept Imperfection

If you have the trait within yourself that you want to do well and will do your best to achieve it, then you are well on your way to being successful. Many people take this quality too far, trying to be perfect at everything, no matter what the conditions. Follow these steps to learn how to accept your imperfections and enjoy your life more fully than ever.

Instructions

• 1

  Make a list of the good things about being a perfectionist and a list of the bad things about being a perfectionist. Study the lists to see which one has the most valid items. An item isn't valid if it is simply a reason that validates avoiding risk, protecting your ego or keeping control.

• 2

  Talk to your friends and family to discuss how your perfectionism affects them and the relationships you have with them.

• 3

  Evaluate two to three different areas of your life that you have great passion for, but you've been ignoring because you've been trying so hard to succeed at them. Make a vow to bring these back into your life.

• 4

  Acknowledge your achievements by appreciating how far you've come instead of concentrating on how you have fallen short.

• 5

  Put yourself in the present. Don't worry about the past and what could have been.

• 6

  Keep a journal where you outline the situations that make you feel the need to be perfect. Also, include any negative consequences and emotions that went along with your feeling that you had to be perfect.

• 7

  Develop a support system of people who are not perfectionists and will support you without calling you out on mistakes or failures.