I Am Prefect

Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. 

Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I vividly remember a time in my high school theater class when we were doing one of those dramatic exercises where you pretend to be crazy things like popping corn or sizzling bacon.  I'd been active in drama for years before this class and had done this exercise dozens of times and always been uncomfortable with it.  It's hard to look cool (as if I ever looked cool) while blooming like a flower under a ray of sunshine.  However, on this particular occasion I happened to look around at the other kids and realized the only ones who actually looked uncool were the ones trying not to by refusing to participate or self-consciously half-assing it like myself.  The kids who just went for it looked ridiculous in all the right ways and were having a blast doing it.  At that moment I realized the coolest thing to do is not give a flying eff what anyone else thinks and I flopped to the ground and sizzled my little heart out.  Theater got a lot more fun after that.

Recently, I realized I was once again trying to look cool and putting a lot of pressure on myself to do something perfectly.  Well, guess what?  I did it and it wasn't perfect.  Surprise, surprise.  And you know what?  I lived.  And not only that, but the feedback I received was positive not only in spite of my imperfections, but because of my imperfections.  Turns out coming across as less than perfect makes you relatable and likeable.    

Next time you are pressuring yourself to be perfect remember how well that turned out for Nina in Black Swan.  Then take a deep breath and lighten up.

k