Did you know that Thomas Edison’s teachers told him that he was too stupid to learn anything? Imagine if he had believed them. As an inventor, Edison failed many, many times while attempting to design the light bulb.
When asked by a reporter about his failings, Edison replied, ‘I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.’ Source: Famous Failures
Did you know the producer of Oprah Winfrey’s first job on television thought she was unfit for television? Imagine if she had listened to their opinion of her and quit! Witnessing her success today makes you feel like she could never have appeared unfit for television at all. Source
These two scenarios are among the hundreds of inspiring stories we can read, of how accomplished people today have triumphed over failure, and all because they didn’t worry about being told they weren’t perfect.
They viewed themselves as human beings who are allowed to make mistakes or ‘fail’. It didn’t stop them from wanting to achieve their goals in life.
These imperfect individuals thought that all they needed to do, despite any inadequacies or limitations that others placed on them, was to try harder, think harder, stick to their goals and never give up. These individuals never worried that they might fail again and again, or that people might think of them as not being good enough.
Ways to Stop Worrying About Not Being Perfect
Now you need to ask yourself, am I worrying unnecessarily about not being perfect? If you are, how can you stop worrying about your imperfections and break your never-ending journey to the pinnacle of perfection?
We have a few suggestions for you here:
Transform Your Mindset
How you look at the world decides how you will respond to life’s challenges. It will determine how you deal with what life dishes up to you.
As an adult, it is obvious to see that life is far from perfect. It is absurd to think that you can be perfect in an unperfect world.
If you keep on aspiring to be perfect or expect things to be perfect all the time, you will experience a deluge of disappointments. Once disappointment sets in, you can get depressed, you may stop doing anything productive, you may even feel as if you should just stop doing everything or anything.
So, before that happens, change how you think. Change your mindset to a positive one and adapt your perspective to any unforeseen situations that may come your way.
Demystify Failure and Learn From It
However intelligent you are, however systematic you have planned your life, things can go wrong and there are hundreds of reasons why it may feel like you have failed. When thoughts of failure set in, tell yourself immediately that you have not failed.
Take a look at that perceived failure and try to dissect it. Where did you go wrong? What led to the catastrophe? What could you have done differently? When you are able to clarify things about what you were doing that perhaps led to the undesired outcome, you will be ready to embrace the failings and learn from them.
What You Can’t Do Doesn’t Define You
Since you are a human being, there will be hundreds of things that you won’t be able to do and accomplish. However, these frailties, these flaws, the things you can’t do, do not define you. Always remember that.
Instead of dwelling on what you cannot do, think of the things that you can do. If you focus on the things that you can’t do, nothing will ever be achieved, which is a sure path to failure.
In Summary – It’s Just Not Possible
If you are ruthlessly aiming for perfection, PLEASE STOP! Why? Because your quest for perfection will lead you to cynicism and take away the joy of living right here and now, in this moment.
Remember that in today’s world, everything is in continuous flux. Things change rapidly, and sometimes, you don’t even notice it. If you think something is perfect today, it doesn’t mean it will be perfect tomorrow. This life is far from perfect, so be the human that you are, stop worrying, and live life to the fullest.
