18 May Susan’s Sound Advice #1212
Black and White thinking is the hallmark of a perfectionist. Perfectionists frequently believe that they are worthless if their accomplishments are less than than the absolute best in their eyes. They have difficulty with perspective…just seeing the black and white of a situation and not the whole rainbow of colors in between. For example, a straight A student who receives a B might believe, I am a total failure. An actor who is nominated for an Academy Award but doesn’t win, may think he is a lousy actor. Leonard Cohen said it wisely in his song, Anthem”, ………………
Ring the bells that still can ring,
Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack in everything,
That’s how the light gets in.
Start seeing your life with perspective and balance. Not everything has to be in black and white. Add some needed color, and instead of saying, “that didn’t work at all”, say, “that may have not worked to my liking, but there is always next time, and I did a good enough job”. Be yourself. Focus on the journey and not the destination. Perfectionism will sabotage your happiness. Being an imperfect human is nothing to be ashamed of, and constantly striving for perfection is damaging. Let go of that black and white thinking. There are wonderful hues between the black and white extremes of “perfect” and “imperfect”. #susankorwin
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