The perfection that lives in imperfection

Curiously, one of the best quotes about imperfection did not come from the lips of a famous philosopher or a famous psychologist. It was an Italian actor, Vittorio Gassman, who stated that “Our imperfections help us to be afraid. Trying to solve them helps us have courage”.

Perhaps it is ironic and striking, since it is easy to think that the perfect thing would have been for a great philosopher of world and historical stature to recite the most perfect sentences about imperfection. However, the human being is imperfect, hence Any person, no matter how insignificant they feel, is capable of carrying out great feats..

However, it is sensible to think that every individual will make mistakes throughout their life. Does this mean you can’t be happy? Do we have to eternally purge our minds for every mistake made? The answer is no, because perfection lives in our own imperfection. We can all be perfectly imperfect.

The therapy of imperfection

Adam Smith once said that “if you approach a situation as a matter of life and death, you will die many times.””. This wise sentence is perfect for addressing a psychological theory that has developed its own clinical methodology, the therapy of imperfection.

With great defenders such as its own creator, Doctor Ricardo Peter, professor at UDLAP, researcher and psychotherapist, this therapy tries to conceive an effective treatment for perfectionism disorders, today much more integrated into society than many of us may think.

In this case, The therapy of imperfection starts from a peculiar base, since its own name could be erroneous and misleading, since here we talk about ‘encounters’, instead of the classic therapeutic session.

By establishing ‘encounters’, we seek to place the therapist and the person receiving the session, thus distorting any inclusion of advantage or disadvantage of both actors. The therapist’s mission is to explore the person’s self-understanding.

The imperfection of the human being

The idea of ​​dedicating an article to the theory of imperfection is due to a contradiction: Knowing that we are imperfect, in many cases we do not tire of facing our own nature. In fact, some people’s discomfort is so much that they turn this grief into an obsession.

However, perfection taken to the limit does not exert any type of positive influence on the human psyche, since we are not even able to define exactly what it consists of. A circle, a sphere, a job perfectly carried out…?

A debate has arisen around the existence of the idea of ​​perfection in which specialists from all periods and branches of science have participated. Currently, the controversy is still open since there is no agreement that has closed it. Despite the discrepancies, there is a current that enjoys good support and that defends that perfection does not exist and these are some of its arguments:

Plato searched throughout his life for the perfect and definitive idea, which can only be reached by finding perfection. Do you think he achieved it? Other evolutionary philosophical currents establish that after perfection there is nothing else. If the world is in constant movement and evolution, and we are part of this world, it is evident that such perfection could not exist. There is also a school of thought that establishes that perfection does not exist, but perfectionism does. The idea of ​​doing something better and better does not mean that one day you will do it perfectly, but it invites you to improve.

The perfection of imperfection

Is there any logical conclusion in this sense? The truth is that it is probably so. But there is not only one correct answer, but as many as there are thought processes and human beings that inhabit this planet.

What may seem perfect to someone may be deeply wrong to others. Perfection seems to be an idea, an image, a utopia that should become the engine to make people better and better and not a liquid in which we sink slowly with no other possibility than to end up drowned by our own desire.

Be that as it may, any human being can be perfectly imperfect. Within all of us there is the will to improve, the need to be happier or the utopian image of our perfect world. It only depends on us, not so much to build something perfect, as something better.

You might be interested…