Be Real, Not Perfect

Perfection is overrated. We realize this gradually and steadily in the moments of silence that we manage to steal from the mad rush of modern life. Reality is under-rated, this realization too dawns upon us when we analyze the world we are surrounded by, the media, the social media and the culture of consumerism. Thus perfection needs to go out and the “real” needs to enter our consciousness.

1. Be Real with Yourself

Let us not get consumed by our Instagram posts. Do not for one moment be deluded into believing that any moment in your life is as one dimensional as the square photo Instagram wants it to fit into. It isn’t. Your life is multi-dimensional and relevant to you only. So we can spend hours and days and sometimes years on social media, presenting to the world what we believe ourselves to be. But stop for a moment and realize that what you present is a re-presentation. Only you have access to the real. Representations are only a reflection of your life. Have a life outside of virtual spaces and learn to be realistic and practical, as that’s what life is all about. Discard the filters of Instagram demanding perfection in each moment. You are not perfect, you are instead ferociously real and flawed and unique.

2. Find Time for Real Things

If you think about the concept of perfection, you will realise  that the term is closely related to the body. Discard the obsession with your body, it will decay and wither no matter how expensive your night creams are. Your hands will wrinkle despite the hand cream that promises to keep your hands young forever. It is your mind and soul that grow and expand every minute. If you wallow in shallowness, they will shrink and die. Let your mind breathe. Find time for things that will make real your lived experience. Invest in music, literature, movies, and conversations. At the age of sixty then, your eyes will twinkle and your smile will be broad (on a wrinkled face maybe), and your memories will be real.

3. Be with Real People

People who believe in being real are easy to spot. They, of course experience intense emotions, as they feel and reflect, but their smiles are genuine and you know their lives are anything but constructed.

Ditch perfection for real experiences of your own kind. Understand that what makes you real is your unique reality, which will be different from the rest. So have your own experiences with family, friends, or alone. Do not follow the standard ideas of what a perfect life is. Have your own enriched lived real experience and not a manufactured one.

The idea of perfection is flawed in its very principle of having a standard. One cannot have a standard idea of being, our different conditions of beings are evidence that our experiences will be diverse and versatile. So will our ideas of self and life. So let us have the real and do away with the standards, otherwise we may all end up as round pegs trying to fit into square holes.