It was a lovely Wednesday afternoon. I got a call from Kate who said that she was going to be here in a few minutes.
The doorbell rang and she was there. “What happened?” I asked. “There is something wrong with this week. It’s going so bad!” She expressed. “Will you tell me what happened?” I asked again.
“Tomorrow my dance video is going online. Today, when I saw the final edit, I realized that the background and the effects didn’t come out that well. Nothing can be done now. The team says it’s great but I don’t think that it’s perfect!” She expressed.
“As long as the dance is good, no one will care much about the background. I’m sure it’s great!” I replied.
“It’s not just that. You know, last evening both my uncle and aunt were at my place after ages. I had baked Blueberry cheesecake for them. They loved it but I wasn’t convinced…I felt the flavor could have been a lot better!” She went on.
Kate was simply under the trap of perfectionism. Something which can get exhausting if we are trying to do it in every phase of life. It can get overwhelming if we don’t put a check.
“Kate, it is a good thing to strive for the best but you can’t let your happiness revolve around it. That way you are not enjoying life. Tell me did you enjoy dancing and rehearsing for the video? Did baking after so long make you feel good?” I asked.
“I did enjoy but would have been happier if it went all right!” She replied.
“You are keeping happiness conditional to the outcome and that’s never going to give you the real joy. You’ll always stay agitated then. It’s okay if things don’t end up being the way you want! We can’t be perfect all the time! Let the joy be in doing the activity itself and not just the outcome,” I replied.
“I think you’re right! I’m always fretting over it. I should stop that. It will be so much fun then!” She expressed.
“Exactly! Besides, who knows when you stop stressing out then you might end up with a better outcome,” I said. There was a pause after which she replied, “I too feel the same now! Thank you so much, Bob. Now I know where I was going wrong!”
The quest for perfectionism is good but not at the cost of missing the joys of the journey. That doesn’t mean that we have to settle for something less or ordinary. It simply means that we should see this idea in a positive light where it is not restricted to the outcome alone. It should be there to keep us consistent in our efforts and let us enjoy ourselves at the same time.