The Antidote to Perfectionism is Life.

Are you a perfectionist?Someone who is constantly battling the need for things to be "just right" before you're satisfied? Never actually feeling satisfied because you're always finding something wrong with your efforts?

• Projects at work
• The state of your house
• The blog post you're agonising over
• The behaviour of your kids
• Your garden
• Friendships
• Your social life

The need to be perfect will invade every area of your life if you let it.And guess what? You'll never get there.You, your work, your home, your kids - these things will never be perfect.

Can I tell you what's better than perfection?

Living.Living is better than perfection.And anyway, perfect isn't all it's cracked up to be.

• Perfect is predictable
• Perfect increases stress
• Perfect hates to be messed with

I've discovered that the imperfections, the signs of life, the quirks and the idiosyncracies - these things are beauty.You deserve to experience these things because you deserve beauty.But what to do?

Let Your Standards Slip

Are you afraid of what will happen if you stop striving to be perfect?Can I tell you what will happen?

• you will achieve more
• you will not be paralysed by the fear of being imperfect
• you will give yourself permission to try new things, to be bad at new things, and to laugh at yourself being bad at new things

I don't mean live like a pig, or eat whatever you want, or stop turning up to work. Please, don't do any of those things.But allow yourself to do your best and then let it go.Let's repeat that for emphasis: Do your best and then let it go.

What Do You Have to Gain by Letting Go?

By letting go - just a little - you will gain:

• time
• contentment
• space for other things
• productivity
• energy

So please, stop holding yourself to impossible ideals.You cannot have a perfect home, perfect children, a perfect partner, a perfect sex life and a perfect figure. Hell, you can't even have one of these. Nothing and no-one is perfect.Accept it and start living. PS. This post is blunt and to the point. I hope you're not offended by that.PPS. This post is blunt and to the point because it was aimed at me as much as anyone else! xx