In Defense of Imperfection

What is more important to most people: perfection, or relatability?  By relatability, I mean the ability you have to have a relationship with a certain person—as in how comfortable you are when you speak to him or her, how well you understand each other, how deep your conversation topics delve, etc.

Who would you pick to work for you?  To be on your team or in a group with you?  To help you get something done?  Would it be the person who doesn’t seem to have any flaws, or the one who you know is honest, real, and dependable?  Who would you trust?

The fact is, many of us don’t trust perfection.  We know that every person in this planet has flaws, so when we see someone who doesn’t seem to have any, we become suspicious.  We suspect it’s an act, and acts can only go on for so long.  We wonder if, underneath all the make-up, the person is really who their appearance and track record say they are.

The truly intuitive among us can actually detect whether a person is being genuine or not based on a feeling they get.  And even in a society that believes these emotion-based, personal feelings-type issues should stay out of the workplace—these intuitive people are in professional positions.  Who knows—the person interviewing you, or the client you’re meeting with could be seeing right through your ruse.

You don’t fool everyone by trying to be perfect—and it might actually hurt your image.  Genuineness will always be valued, no matter how far down the appearance-obsessed, performance-oriented road we travel.

But fortunately, you may be thinking, there are also those who are less intuitive and may not see through your act right away—or ever.  Some people just can’t read emotion, and these are the people who may be impressed by your seemingly flawless appearance and reputation.  However, by making this impression on people, you’re actually setting yourself up for a future teeming with stress and exhaustion.  Once you’ve made that first impression, you now have a very high standard to live up to every day.  If you dip lower than the standard, people will be disappointed with you even though your new level of performance is still quite high.

Don’t strive to be perfect.  You may think you’re doing yourself a favor, but what you’re actually doing is imprisoning yourself.

Perfection is not a fact of this life.  It doesn’t fit on us anymore.  It won’t fit on us until the next life, when we’re given new bodies and a new environment in which to live.  Until then, realize that acting flawless in a flawed world is both difficult and, ironically, detrimental to your image.