perfectionism

I believe perfectionism should be classified as a mental disorder. It can really cause damage to a person's psyche. I admit that I suffer from this. I want to be the best at whatever I do mainly because I believe I can be and why not pursue what you know you are capable of. There are a few negative effects of perfectionism, though. For starters you can cause yourself a lot of stress in the process. You also cut yourself off from other things that might distract you from your task at hand.

As I've gotten older, I have definitely improved in this area of trying to be perfect at every little thing. The area I struggle with the most now is being perfect in life. Trying to make every perfect decision and following God's plan for my life perfectly. This is not a good decision, it goes against the freedom that God has granted us.

The whole reason these ideas are on my mind is because of some late-night tv channel flipping. I hate watching commercials and like scanning all the channels. It drives others crazy, but I often find things I would never see. Some nights I stop on the school board meeting or get caught watching HSN or QVC. One night I stopped on one of the Christian channels and a woman (unsure of who she is) was leading a lesson with a small group of women. She was talking about being perfect. God has given us gifts, but He has never called us to be perfect at using our gifts. If that is what we are pursuing we will fall every time. It's okay to be good.

How hard is that for you to say? It's hard for me sometimes, but the times I can get that to sink in my head I am so much happier. Others aren't annoyed by my desire to be perfect, which is good, and I am not stressed out if things are perfect. A constant reminder - It's okay to be good.

See my channel flipping actually did some good! :)