What Does the word 'Perfect' Actually Means?

*I salute Steve Jobs*

There was a fat, short girl once said "I am not beautiful. No guy in his right mind would want to date me or even look at me."

Okay. Maybe this is a bad intro for today's post. I'll try with this one:

There was a pretty, fair lady once came to me and said "I'm driving a Prius now. I earn 6 figures per month. I took music class; I do spa and saloon every week and have travelled almost all around the world. All guys would kneeled at me and beg to marry me. Oh yes, have I told you that I am only 28 years old?"

The Perfect Is The Enemy Of The Good.

I am a very observant girl. I can see flaws from others very quickly, and their perfections as well. But luckily I am not a judgmental person. Maybe that’s why I am not bothered with people with bad a taste of fashion, their childish way of thinking and even the way they control their emotions. No, I am not bothered with you, as long as you’re not affecting me. Full stop.

There is this one girl in my office, a consultant from Australia (well she’s actually a Malaysian) who seems to be very effective in delivering her work in a timely manner. She leads the Change Management team in my department where its basis of work is making sure all engagements within the stakeholders are happening smoothly and ensuring our intention of transforming the institution for the better is well delivered. She’s very active and is always a positive thinker. I asked her one day “Hey, do you mind if I ask, how you actually manage the people you meet every day, with different characters and needs? I can see that you’re always smiling and can handle pressure very well.”

“Well, everyone is not perfect.” she smiled and me. “You’ll learn and get more matured as you grow. But with one condition: take failures as something good and eager to improve from the mistakes you’ve done. Hunger for knowledge, thirst for new things.”

As cliché as it sounded, I have to agree with her. Everyone is facing their own challenges. But as time goes by, we grow to be more matured that we have never been before.

I read an article on how to control perfectionism and here are the simple steps that I have summarized based on my understanding:

1. Forgive yourself for your short comings: If you can’t deliver as people expected you to, don’t blame yourself too much. Keep telling yourself that it’s okay; there is still room for improvement.

2. Focus on what is really needed: It there really a need to spend thousands of RM to do plastic surgery just to get your dream guy’s attention? Is there really a need to be so perfect that you need to miss your timeline? Wise people will not think perfect, they think smart.

3. Results VS Judgments: Don’t let others judgments affect your results. Study to learn, not just getting perfect score, exercises for health, not just to lose weight. A perfectionist always concern with others who perceive imperfection. That is bad.

Being Imperfect is Okay. It Is Sometimes A Beauty.

A rough, ugly oyster has a pearl inside it. An old mango can be a seed when it falls on the ground. A heavy rain gives lives to crops.

A perfect thing for you, may not be perfect for me. It carries different definitions to different people. So does the definition matters anymore?

Dear friends, find the beauty of the imperfections in you. =’)