Hello all!  Today I want to talk about the topic of perfection.  As codependents and love addicts, we have striven for perfection constantly, only to be disappointed when our expectations were not met.  Whether it was someone else we were trying to impress or just ourselves, we were hard on ourselves for not executing it perfectly.

We don’t have to be hard on ourselves.  Nobody in this world is perfect!  We seem to hear that from people all the time, but the struggle is in understanding and really believing it.

We look at other peoples’ lives, especially with social media, and they seem to have it all – jobs, families, houses, vacations, and happiness.  But there is so much of peoples’ lives that we do not see, and each person has their struggles.  Truly, nobody is perfect.

But oh how we wanted to be.  If we were perfect, our parents would love us right, or boyfriend would be our husband, and we would get that promotion we dream about.  But our perfectionism hinders us more than it helps us.  We focus too much of our energy into trying to please others and be the perfect person that we lose ourselves.  We don’t do what we want, or what may even be good for us, because there is a chance that we can be the perfect person and that will solve our problems.  When we fail at being perfect – not because we are failures at all, but simply because nobody can be perfect, we are ashamed of ourselves.  We feel guilty, and we tell ourselves that next time we’ll be more perfect, an antagonize over minute details rather than the bigger picture.

Our worth is not defined by how perfect we are, as we have been led to believe.  No matter what, we are worthy, and if there is someone that expects perfection in return for their presence in your life, they are not the right person for you, and that is okay.  We are imperfect.  It makes us human,  It allows us to empathize and have compassion for others, and when we share our imperfections with others, we are courageous and it creates connections with others.  We don’t have to be perfect.  Nobody is.

Sherry Gaba, LCSW, Radio Host, Certified Transformation Coach and author of  the award winning book, The Law of Sobriety:Attracting Positive Energy for a Powerful Recovery and Ecourse www.wakeuprecovery.com. www.sherrygaba.com sherry@sgabatherapy.com