Imperfection is the less-loved sister of highly overrated Perfectionism. The reason why she’s not as loved, is because of her bad reputation. She’s often confused with not trying, rushing things over, and delivering bad results. But that’s not what imperfection is about.
Imperfection is about taking a leap and going for something 100%... knowing that it’s not going to be perfect and shaking hands with that knowledge. It also means knowing that there always and forever are going to be things that could have been done better. Imperfection means that when you feel there’s a message that needs to be send out into the world, one to hopefully move or inspire others, you don’t wait endless years until that message is finally put out there.
People need you now. You can make a change now.
I know perfectionism has also brought a lot of people a lot and I realize getting rid of it (partly) is not an overnight job. And maybe you don’t even agree with me and feel like perfectionism serves you; that too is okay, of course. But I know that for me, all the times that I did things imperfectly, it made me feel way more happier and satisfied than whenever I was striving for perfection. Which, let’s be honest, is a very subjective concept to begin with. Doing things imperfectly and realizing that it’s okay to do it imperfectly takes some of the weight off your shoulders. I wish with all that I have that working passionately and having a wonderful message becomes more and more important in the future.
So I hope that if you’ve been thinking about becoming a photographer, you start shooting people (or other things!), even though you know you’re not as far as others. I hope that when you dream about a singing career, you start performing in a local café, even though you still have so much to learn. And I hope you go out skating in the park, even though you feel like you’re not good enough. You are good enough to show yourself. And how else can you learn faster than by doing, by starting?
Lastly, I hope that even if you’re more advanced, becoming more skilled and professional, you still dare to do things imperfectly. Nobody ever cared about the false note someone sang at a concert when the artist gave it all. No one is going to be bothered if there’s one spelling mistake in your article that makes people FEEL something. Trying to do things good and without 'mistakes' is not a bad thing, NEEDING it to be perfect… that’s probably going to cost you some valuable energy.
To all my perfectionists: I hope you take care of yourself. And I hope you can be proud of yourself, even when things don’t feel 100% perfect. You’re doing great.