It’s Worse than You Think

When you try to focus on something you deem important, you’re forced to face your limits, an experience that feels especially uncomfortable precisely because the task at hand is one you value so much. Unlike the architect from Shiraz, who refused to bring his ideal mosque into the world of time and imperfection, you’re obliged to give up your godli

Perfection isn’t possible, but transformation is.

Accepting your own imperfections is the gateway to an even more daring mindset: accepting the world as it is, not as you wish it would be. This is another fruit of my adventures in cognitive behavior therapy. About 20 years ago, my wife and I went to some workshops on mindfulness led by Marsha Linehan, whose techniques incorporate a core principle

The reason this is so liberating, for anyone with even a hint of perfectionism, is that it means you get to give up on the exhausting struggle to take charge of your life, so as to steer it in a new direction. You get to abandon all hope of one day finding the perfect time management system– or perfect relationship, job, neighborhood, etcetera– and

The renowned seventh-century Zen master Seng-tsan taught that true freedom is being “without anxiety about imperfection.” This means accepting our human existence and all of life as it is. Imperfection is not our personal problem—it is a natural part of existing. We all get caught in wants and fears, we all act unconsciously, we all get diseased an