The Unbearable Unpleasantness of Being (a Mostly-Perfectionist)

Via Tumblr (please contact me if you know who to credit)

Sometimes life just hits you in the face - it all goes to hell and if you, like me, are a perfectionist (of any sort) it can hit you extra hard. The thing is, most of us perfectionists do not expect everyone to fall into our idea of perfection- I could care less if my friend burnt her roast dinner but if it would happen at my own mistake though, I would never forgive myself. Even to this day I can still mentally kick myself for burning a piece of toast I was making for my mother's birthday ten years ago.

I presume it's not only something I do, in fact I suspect a lot of so-called perfectionists feel a lot like I feel - the incurable need to be better, not to prove others wrong or belittle them, but to confirm to yourself that you are indeed good at something. On one hand it can be a very destructive pattern but on the other hand it can lead to many great accomplishments. As with most things in life the middle road is the road best traveled (this does not include things like love, books, learning, pizza, ice cream, buffalo wings and other disgustingly good aspects of life - where it is of course only the overly-indulgent road that is the best traveled).
Sometimes you just have to complain a bit, so you can get the negative thoughts out and replace them with positive thoughts. Which is why today's topic is a very good one - what makes one uncomfortable?

As stated before, I am a perfectionist so of course this makes me prone to get very upset when my own plans do not go perfectly (macarons is a project I have tried around five times and every time I've gotten it wrong and thus I lose my mind - yes yes, the taste is good, but are they perfect? No and that is why they simply will not do). As with many projects that go horribly wrong, I just don't attempt them again, move on to things I can actually do perfect like omelettes and other easy things. I am getting better at not abandoning a project, but I just hate doing a half-assed job, it is incompetent and not worthy. Therefore the whole process has been "tainted" and I really have to get myself together to give it another go - every time I produce something less than perfect, I fail myself and no amounts of "okay" projects will make it up. I am a very simple woman - I am easily satisfied with the very best.

My other pet peeves include the way snakes slither, sticky hands (sticky anything), smelling too much of perfume, other people's hair on my furniture/brush/anything and many more things. None if this matters enough to bother me that much, though (except for the snakes, I get goosebumps just seeing a snake on tv - it's the way they move!).

Enough about me, what are your pet peeves or what things make you uncomfortable?

Thank you for reading, I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

- C.


Edit: I thought I sat this post to appear on the 4th, but I didn't! So I will have posted it a day too late - shucks!