Sonia Goetschius

Gardner 0
English 10
28 October 2014
Tyranny of Perfection
A French philosopher and writer, Voltaire, once said: Dont let the perfect be the enemy
of the good (Rubin).
What does it mean to be perfect? To have the perfect body? Hair? Teeth? Mind? Life?
Perfection is the prize, the gold mine that those who search for it hope to find- but this illusion of
being absolutely flawless is nothing but an illusion that merely haunts those who try to achieve
it. These ideas are created by our own states of mind, influenced by the ideas swirling around
our own lives.
Mental disorders, eating disorders, self harm-- these are all effects of people feeling as
though they are worthless and helpless and hopeless-- a lack of perfection.
Teenagers, adults-- absolutely everyone struggles with the ideas of imperfection tearing
at their evolving, elaborate, and extraordinary minds, that have so much potential. Instead,
many of them are torn apart with anxiety, stress, and depression lingering, embodying their
minds.
The idea of perfection can wear at ones life and suddenly lives wear thin. The elements
of depression and anxiety, coming from the fear of imperfection, are especially prevalent among
our own age group-- the fragile teenager.
Teenagers have enough going on in their lives, between school, social lives, and trying
to figure out what to do with their lives, and this constant oppressing and denominating force at
their back. Life can become seemingly unbearable. With all of these elements and more, the
side effects of self harm, anxiety, and depression draw a clear line between the problem and its
effect.

And though teenagers do suffer from these effects, it does not stop after adulthood has
been reached.
So how must we go about dismissing these ideas? All of us, together, must dismiss the
idea of perfection from the minds those killing themselves over the ideas of the ideal- when it
does not exist. These ideas must be diminished from the already overwhelming ideas and
pressures of society, and replaced with ideas of acceptance.
Yes, it sounds cliche that we must learn to love ourselves, but it is so incredibly true.
Since imperfection is a doubt that comes from within, we must conquer this problem from within.
This means being okay with who you are, and being supportive with those around you.
According to the University of Kent, both self-oriented and social perfectionism are
vulnerability factors that cause negative results after repeated failure (Stoeber). If we all agreed
to send a little bit more joy and kindness into this world- perhaps the joy and kindness would
send itself back to us. It wont be a quick fight, it may even be an infinite fight, but as we slowly
belittle the hatred spread by words and pictures, this illusion of perfection will become
something out of reach and far-off not because we, ourselves, cannot achieve it, but instead
because the idea itself is known to be out of reach and far-off, and we, as a society and as a
powerful force ourselves, are satisfied with this fact.
Imagine a world where perfection is not even in your vocabulary, in your world. Sounds
perfect, doesnt it? Well perhaps this is what we need to realize-- we can be perfect, in the ways
that we are. It may seem as though we are going from glamor to sticks, barbies to stick
figures.But the definition of perfection wouldnt be defined by the severity of our flaws, the length
of our legs, or the depths of our minds, because we know better. We know that perfection
doesnt have to be an obsession. A disease. A tyranny. Perfection can be exactly who we are.
Dont let the perfect be the enemy of the good, Voltaire, once said (Rubin). Dont let
yourself become your own enemy, dont let yourself sacrifice your good- for something so
stupendously illusive.

So here today, I challenge you, my fellow students, to stop the perfect from becoming
the enemy of your good. Because the perfect can annihilate the good, severing it so it may not
be able to recover.

Works Cited
Rubin, Gretchen. "Tip: Don't Let the PERFECT Be the Enemy of the GOOD .."
Happiness-Project. N.p., 2013. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
Stoeber, J. "Perfectionism and Negative Affect after Repeated Failure: Anxiety,
Depression, and Anger." Kent Academic Repository. University of Kent, 2014. Web. 04
Nov. 2014.