hummingwolf | (no subject)

Posted two comments over in

shadesong's journal which I may as well post in my journal too. Comment the first:

Heh. One thing my parents and other adult figures tried to tell me was "You don't have to be perfect as long as you try your best." Then they went and told me "You can do whatever you want if you put your mind to it and work hard enough," which essentially told me that if I didn't do things perfectly, I obviously wasn't trying hard enough. Gee, thanks for the conflicting messages, folks.

The one thing that kept me from being a perfectly good perfectionist when I was younger was that even when I was healthy, my coordination stank to the highest heavens. Then, of course, getting a chronic health condition where not only your body but also your mind often refuses to do what you tell it to will go a long way towards defeating perfectionist tendencies. I still desperately want to be perfect, though, and the reluctance to admit that I don't know what the hell I'm doing has done a lot to keep me from having fun. Even among friends, I hate for the cracks to show.

The other comment was:

Note: When learning how to let your imperfections show, you don't need to learn your lesson perfectly. You are permitted to be imperfectly imperfect by letting the occasional perfection show. ;-)

'Song followed my train of thought... perfectly. Figures.

~~~~~

On an entirely different (and more musical) note, I really should listen to Nik Kershaw's 15 Minutes CD more often.