The glorification of perfection makes the world go round, or at least the economic world. But our insatiable desire to attain sometimes unattainable ideals comes at the expense of our inner peace with who we are. Plus, our self-worth can’t be measured by how close to perfection we are.

Staying immune to messages implying that we are not enough and that we should change calls for healthy self-esteem. Hence, the more unworthy we feel the more the beauty, self-help, or fashion industry will grow thanks to us. Because, unfortunately, the happiness that comes with buying another pair of shoes fades away quickly.

It’s crucial to point out that I’m not against improving ourselves in any manner. On the contrary, I believe that improving ourselves is the path to happiness. However, what needs improvement lays elsewhere, in our self-perception. 

Maybe it’s the social media or the times we are living in, but it feels like superficiality prevails in the culture around us. As a result, the ideals that we strive towards can channel our energy in a totally wrong direction.

We see perfection everywhere. We are always shown the extremes in any field of life. We see that people with perfect skin seem happy and automatically think that perfect skin is the key to happiness. We see people with what looks on the outside like a perfect career and think that promotion will make us happier.

Our state of happiness consists of many variables. The set of variables is unique to every person. Neglecting that what’s good for others might not be good for us can lead to adopting wrong values

Envisaging ourselves achieving perfection feels like the panacea to all our worries. If we wake up and everything is perfect, then what? I was thinking to myself whether by undergoing any procedures to remove my skin imperfections, I’ll become happier. Probably, yes, for a while. And then what?

So, instead of striving for perfection for the sake of it, maybe it is better to strive for seeing our imperfections in a new and better light.

Feeling beautiful inside and outside is a matter of self-acceptance and self-compassion. We would do better to strive to understand ourselves and our unique needs. Maybe I needed psychotherapy and not facial fillers.

The economy does a great deal to point our attention to expensive things that bring us temporary contentment until the next time we need another self-esteem boost.

Most of the ideals that are portrayed out there are not in touch with the real needs of our inner worlds.

I’m sure that people who feel good about themselves are less prone to worshiping perfectionism

But that’s the thing, one should be able to enjoy their imperfections and see the beauty in each of them. Embracing our uniqueness and not comparing ourselves to the social standards is no small feat. It requires psychological resilience, open-mindedness, and a pinch of imagination. And a little bit of rebellious behavior.