My relationship with perfection?
Most unhealthy.
The word evokes beauty.
And stress.
It’s okay to fail.
I know.
I make mistakes.
Often.
I’m human.
Forgive myself freely?
Not a chance.
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{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
That forgiveness part – gets me every time. Perhaps with reminders and practice, I will learn someday to not be so hard on myself.
Wrestling with expectations of personal perfection.
Oh yes. I've been there. Today.
Understanding and feeling and self-forgiveness…
They'll all come together one day.
So correct! So true!
Another six-word wonder!
Once again, you sound just like my hubby. I can easily let things slide, not get down on myself for not being perfect. Hubby cannot. I think it's hard for him to understand when our son is happy with being "average" and not always striving for perfection. I say whatever makes him content.
Don't be too hard on yourself, my dear. Keep remembering that sometimes good enough is Good Enough. xo
Ah yes, the ever-elusive perfection. The older I get, the more I realize it's a myth. And sometimes, a cautionary tale.
Forgiveness is easy when you are forgiving someone else, but it is much harder when it is your standards that aren't being met. It keeps you hungry for something more. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Perfection is just like art. It is in the eye of the beholder. I understand your take on Perfection perfectly.
Friends will always forgive you first.
For my mom, waiting for perfection means not getting many things done that she would like done. And in seeing her and another loved one combat the dark side of perfection, I am left with my mantra – I am not perfect, but it's better then nothing, I am not perfect, but this is better then nothing…
Luckily my dad was a model pragmatist.
Oh, boy, so true. Me, too.
(And that wasn't perfect by far, but it's all I could come up with in six words.) =>
Yes, I'm exactly the same way. I'm so hard in myself for every mistake. I expect others to make mistakes and forgive them. But I can't seem to do the same thing with myself.
Yes, I'm exactly the same way. I'm so hard in myself for every mistake. I expect others to make mistakes and forgive them. But I can't seem to do the same thing with myself.
Yes, I'm exactly the same way. I'm so hard in myself for every mistake. I expect others to make mistakes and forgive them. But I can't seem to do the same thing with myself.
Yes, I'm exactly the same way. I'm so hard in myself for every mistake. I expect others to make mistakes and forgive them. But I can't seem to do the same thing with myself.
Word. I felt exactly the same way when I was contemplating "perfection."
You inspired me to do my own six word Friday today! Thanks!
Perfection is hard. It is something that has grown within us for a long time. It takes almost just as long to change it.
I'm not always good at forgiving but I can let it go.
The hardest person to forgive: yourself.
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Though, I believe I'm improving everyday.
Keeping fingers crossed. Me, delusional? Possibly
Who says perfection is perfect?
Who made up that dumb rule?
I've never seen your beautiful face
but I know it is because
your words are so near perfect.
I had a moment this week that could have been totally summed up by this wonderfully honest piece here.
It took me two days to really let myself let it go.
Why is it so hard to forgive ourselves?
I often wonder, though, if the struggle of forgiveness is mostly wrapped up in anger. I notice that when I cannot fogive myself, I'm angry at myself. And anger is a secondary emotion, mostly, at least for me. It usually stems from sadness or embarassment.
Just some thoughts written aloud.
Sometimes it's not forgiveness we need,
it's compassion and empathy and kindness.
The things we give others freely
yet deny ourselves without any remorse.
Be gentle with yourself, my friend.
I don't get to read your blog often (or many others, to be honest.) Nurturing a growing business along with an infant and a six-year-old has proven to be a true time and energy-sapper.
But it's not for this reason that I admire what you're doing here: it's because – despite your feelings to the contrary expressed in this post and others – you at least have mustered up the guts to reveal yourself here, and the commitment to see this blog through and make it grow. You can't be that much of a perfectionist and still be able to take that risk.
I wish someday that I'll be able to consistently channel my own energy into something creative, and take more risks with my own writing. Maybe it will help me to continue to heal from my own perfectionism, and help soften life into more numerous grey areas – rather than the black-and-white view I too often take of the world.
Good on you for keeping your own journey going, even when doing so means wading through the complicated muck of feelings it might bring with it.