Thursday, August 8, 2013

Mastering the Perfection of Imperfection

When it comes to trying to achieve anything in life there is one hurdle that I fight to overcome each and every time - perfectionism.  Rarely do I share any sort of personal thoughts on this site but I feel that with blogging comes this idea of trying to achieve this flawless and beautiful world - a world that I find I am trying to create for myself.   I found myself suffering with this unrealistic idea of perfection long before I began blogging over two years ago (body image, career, etc) and found that it has gotten somehow worse since doing so.  I find myself comparing my blog content, photographs, comments to others and I know that this is detrimental and not a wise thing to do.  I set the bar high for my content and photography and sometimes I find myself beating myself up because something might not look 'perfect' in my eyes, whatever  'perfect' looks like and while doing so become overwhelmed with anxiety. 

It is my goal now to focus on letting go a bit and realizing that if I do not place so much emphasis on creating these ideals for myself, I might actually find myself doing more and achieving better results.  All too often I get paralyzed and cannot progress forward because I am trying to make something look flawless. One of my favorite passions is photography and styling what I am about to photograph, however, I realized that since I have not been filling my past few weekends with this hobby I have felt a bit freer.  I pour hours into each of my photography posts and while doing so I wonder if I will please my readers (you guys are amazing by the way) and ultimately myself. There is nothing wrong with trying to be better, I think constantly setting new goals for yourself is incredibly important in life, but I do think that taking small steps along the way and acknowledging progress is essential, something I am guilty of not doing along the way.  I am trying to find the balance of walking away from something and knowing that if I have put my all into it the results will be more than great. How do you respond to this idea of perfection?




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12 comments:

  1. Everytime you see something that looks "perfect", chances are it's not. People like to put on a front so others think their life is perfect sadly. I just continue to be honest and open and embrace my flaws :)

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  2. Yes it is not always easy but I think you should do what ever gives you pride.

    Ali of

    Dressing Ken

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  3. I know exactly what you mean! Rest assured that your photos are amazing as well as your styling and your choice of recipes is always perfect. I think you are doing an amazing job nad I adore coming here every day to see what you have to share.

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  4. I think everyone struggles with the same thing, especially if they're part of the blogging world–regardless of how self-assured you are, it's bound to ignite insecurities within you (I know it does for me!). It helps me to remember that not everything is as it seems–sure, maybe I put up a happy blog post about my weekend, but then I had a REALLY bad, stressful day at work that Monday. It's not something I'm necessarily going to share on my blog, but knowing that everyone MUST have those same types of moments that I do allows me to realize that regardless of how lovely blogs may seem, there's a person with real issues and real emotions and real experiences behind them.

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  5. I think everyone struggles with the same thing, especially if they're part of the blogging world–regardless of how self-assured you are, it's bound to ignite insecurities within you (I know it does for me!). It helps me to remember that not everything is as it seems–sure, maybe I put up a happy blog post about my weekend, but then I had a REALLY bad, stressful day at work that Monday. It's not something I'm necessarily going to share on my blog, but knowing that everyone MUST have those same types of moments that I do allows me to realize that regardless of how lovely blogs may seem, there's a person with real issues and real emotions and real experiences behind them.

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  6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi this is a great article on a Japanese worldview (based on Buddhist principles) that is centered around accepting imperfection. I once came in contact with a jewelry line that would always finish their pieces with an odd colored bead, just so that it could be imperfect. In life, we are perfectly imperfect!

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  7. I really loved readin this post. I used to put so much pressure on myself to be perfect and then I realised i was chasing a unicorn. There is no such thing and the sooner we realise it the sooner we'll be happier :)

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  8. I believe that you can find perfection in almost anything, it is just the lense that you look through. Today's image of perfection often times gets very mundane and boring for me. I find that perfection is overrated and the coolest things and the best experience are those that come from spontaneity and imperfection. Those are the things that get remembered. I think that is why YOUR blog is so amazing. You make the simple and rugged things come to life, you make the world a more beautiful place by pointing out the things that are sometimes overlooked. That is such an important skill and talent that will never go out of style.

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  9. I definitely everyone feels this same way, at some point or another. Just remember that no one is perfect!

    xo, Yi-chia
    Always Maylee

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  10. I think we're all a little bit the same. Looking for perfection, blogs are a way to make a part of our lives perfect because we can "control" almost everything in our posts. Just like if our blogs were our "perfect world".
    Anyway, I really understand what you mean Alison because sometimes I don't put things on my blog just because for me they're not good enough.
    I think we also have to accept that sometimes things cannot always be perfect. And it's one of the most difficult thing to do ...!

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  11. I know what you mean. As hard as I try not to compare my blog to other blogs, I can't help it. I really have to focus on me being happy with my blog. If my imperfections are shown on it, then I do have to stop and remind myself that I'm not perfect. It is annoying since there is this weird kind of pressure of having a blog and a perfect life. But I like to think people can relate better to others imperfections.

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