Daily Devotion

April 10, 2013

Break Free from Perfectionism (1)


“Trying to become perfect by your own human effort?” Gal 3:3 NLT

Columnist Ann Landers wrote, “Rose-colored glasses are never made in bifocals. Nobody wants to read the small print in dreams.” The small print in every dream is— reality. You may fulfill your dream, but you won’t do it perfectly. Looking back you’ll say, “If I knew then what I know now.” But if you could live all over again you’d probably say the same thing. The truth is, the journey will take longer than you hoped. The obstacles will be more numerous than you thought. The disappointments will be greater than you expected. The lows will be lower than you imagined. The price will be higher than you anticipated. Stop expecting more than what’s reasonable. Stop seeing minor mistakes as major catastrophes. To break free from perfectionism, Dr. Chris Thurman says: “Humble yourself: repent of being so filled with pride that you think you’re equal with God. Be reality focused: accept life as it is, not how you think it should be. Establish attainable goals: make them realistic and achievable in the here-and-now. Set reasonable time limits: instead of spending time struggling to do one thing perfectly, prioritize, and allot a reasonable amount of time to each activity. In less-important areas, accept good-enough; not every job has to be (or can be) done exceptionally well. Lose the all-or-nothing thinking: not every situation is black and white…most contain shades of gray. Learn from your mistakes: then move on. Confess your shortcomings: acknowledging your weaknesses releases you from the pull of perfectionism. Find your worth in God: not in ‘your own human effort,’ in what you do and how well you do it.”

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