Is striving for perfection ruining our lives?

So, tonight I decided to publish an article that I wrote about striving for perfection, let me know what you think and please share!

Every day the controversial topic of perfection creeps up in the news, on the radio and even in general conversation. We must ask ourselves, is perfection healthy?  Or are we just taking ourselves down a very long, dark and bumpy road?

Research is showing that an approximate 1 in 6 young people will suffer from some sort of anxiety and most of the time it all begins with the desire to be perfect! Striving for perfection is one of the fastest routes to unhappiness. Why? Because perfection doesn’t exist. It is an illusion that keeps us caught up in a cycle of unhappiness and disappointment!

Let's start by focusing on one of the most important things in our lives! Education... From a young age, children are brought up trying to please parents by getting 10 out of 10 in their times tables or spelling test.  This sticks to them, like glue does to a page.  Most parents push their children towards Grammar Schools, in their eyes they are better than high schools! It is thought that people who pay for their education are more likely to work hard, REALLY? So, are they trying to say that students in Grammar Schools don’t mess around? Teenagers not being teenagers! Well… I find that hard to believe... The ridiculous stereotype that Grammar School students do better than High School students needs to go! It is the individual that works hard and is committed enough to get the grades, regardless of the school. Young people should have the freedom to attend a school that they feel comfortable and happy in without having to face any overwhelming pressure or expectation.

However, striving to always do better in certain tasks whether it is improving our score in a test, to improving our attendance, to improving our fitness levels, can be healthy! It is thought that striving to be better than you were yesterday is extremely healthy for us; it improves our confidence, self-esteem and generally lifts our mood.  In theory that sounds simple, but when you take it to the next level, where does it end? Are you happy with the next grade up? Are you happy with the comment slightly improved? Or do you strive for full marks?

Let’s look at the physical side of things. Everyone wants to look like the latest celebrities, right? Daily, I see posts on Facebook referring to celebrities saying things like '' isn't she perfect?" “Hasn’t she got the most perfect figure?” People forget that celebrities generally have a lot more money to hide the natural things about them that they don't like. For example, they can afford to spend money on photo shopping their images before they are uploaded on social media. This is having a dramatic effect on everyone's confidence- I know some girls who can't go out of their house without makeup on, afraid that they might be judged on how they look. These photo shopped images are creating a false impression of reality and it needs to be stopped!

Another major issue is that most adverts use exceptionally young, slim men or women. People then feel like that is normal and they must look like this. Young people, particularly girls fall into the danger zone of losing massive amounts of weight and becoming anorexic.  Why have we let this get so far? Anorexia can lead to brain damage, heart attacks and death! For young women aged 15-24, anorexia is the most common cause of death. A shocking 12 times higher than any other condition!  The media is destroying our self-confidence and most people can no longer accept the way they are!

Encourage your generation to take a step back and recognise that what they have done is good enough… their natural appearance is good enough… they are good enough… Do it today, not tomorrow, not next week!

Let's change society for the better! Let's become stronger! Let's focus on ourselves and not the expectations of others!