12-20-2013, 05:17 PM
this impulse to be 'perfect' is something that I've worked with for most of my life.
it can be a reaction to an inner sense of 'unworthiness' - and so things have to be made 'perfect' as a response.
it can also have roots in an inferiority complex (self esteem issues), and the 'perfectionism' is sort of an over-reaction expressed as 'over achievement' (although its a slightly different response to the unworthiness above).
whatever the cause, trying to be 'perfect' for the world, and in one's actions and words puts a lot of strain and anxiety on the self, always comparing what is expressed with some inner perfect ideal.
it can make life very tentative and self-conscious (self-conscious in a slightly negative way).
that is not to say that the impulse to learn, achieve, improve, and observe feedback is a bad one (it is, absolutely neccessarily in fact for growth). But having an expectation of the 100% clean sheet, and an almost angelic sheen is one that one can never live up to, and so one always 'fails' in one's own estimation.
but I've found that if you address some of the root issues of unworthiness, inferiority, shame, etc, this relentless drive for perfection can be moderated into something like a 'pursuit of excellence', and 'a task done with caring attention', or something that reflects a more considered, and less absolute attitude than 'perfection'.
- -
just a little Ra effulgence to sprinkle in at the end
"May we note that just as each entity strives in each moment to become more nearly one with the Creator but falls short, just so is physical spotlessness striven for but not achieved. In each case the purity of intention and thoroughness of manifestation are appreciated. The variance between the attempt and the goal is never noted and may be considered unimportant."
it can be a reaction to an inner sense of 'unworthiness' - and so things have to be made 'perfect' as a response.
it can also have roots in an inferiority complex (self esteem issues), and the 'perfectionism' is sort of an over-reaction expressed as 'over achievement' (although its a slightly different response to the unworthiness above).
whatever the cause, trying to be 'perfect' for the world, and in one's actions and words puts a lot of strain and anxiety on the self, always comparing what is expressed with some inner perfect ideal.
it can make life very tentative and self-conscious (self-conscious in a slightly negative way).
that is not to say that the impulse to learn, achieve, improve, and observe feedback is a bad one (it is, absolutely neccessarily in fact for growth). But having an expectation of the 100% clean sheet, and an almost angelic sheen is one that one can never live up to, and so one always 'fails' in one's own estimation.
but I've found that if you address some of the root issues of unworthiness, inferiority, shame, etc, this relentless drive for perfection can be moderated into something like a 'pursuit of excellence', and 'a task done with caring attention', or something that reflects a more considered, and less absolute attitude than 'perfection'.
- -
just a little Ra effulgence to sprinkle in at the end
"May we note that just as each entity strives in each moment to become more nearly one with the Creator but falls short, just so is physical spotlessness striven for but not achieved. In each case the purity of intention and thoroughness of manifestation are appreciated. The variance between the attempt and the goal is never noted and may be considered unimportant."