Not Being Perfect is Perfectly OKAY!

Not Being Perfect is Perfectly OKAY!

 Deandra Christianson

I have recently been thinking about how important it is to not only acknowledge and appreciate our strengths, but also acknowledge our weaknesses. By doing this, we give ourselves options. Instead of being critical of ourselves for having weakness, we can make changes or just “own” it. This concept can be extraordinarily frightening, but we just cannot be perfect. We are human. We make mistakes. We have weaknesses. AND IT IS OKAY! That, to me, is a HUGE relief!

For example, I am not good at sports. I am very uncoordinated, and if a ball is flying at my face, I will run the other way. I love being active, but I have found other ways such as dance, running, and yoga to move my body. This is a weakness I “own.” At this point in my life, it is not a priority for me to be good at sports. Maybe in another time, this will be something I will work on. This is where it is very important to know my strengths. I can appreciate that there are other things I do well.

The other option is to work on a weakness. For example, I tend to run late or arrive somewhere with no time to spare. This is a weakness I am aware of, and I think it is important to work on it. I have been making improvements in this area. For me, this was something that was impacting my life and needed to be addressed.

Having these options can be freeing. These examples may seem arbitrary, but I believe this can be applied to many areas. I think the root of this is feeling so grounded in one’s strengths that other things are not as important. It also incorporates the idea of being compassionate toward ourselves instead of critical.

You can give so much to the world through your strengths. Let them shine, and don’t worry about perfection.