You're More Perfect Than A Banana

Bananas are often called the perfect food. They're healthy, delicious, and (best of all) because of their rind you never have to worry about who was touching it. But did you ever notice that bananas are green when they arrived at your grocery? Logic would dictate that bananas are picked green so they can ripen en route to your store, but that is incorrect. I'll tell you why in a moment...

Bananas may or may not be perfect, but you definitely are. Before you doubt me, do you know the difference between perfection and perfectionism? Here it is in a nutshell: perfection is what you are (warts and all) while perfectionism is what you think you ought to be.

Perfection is wonderful. Perfection is vital, robust, and lots of fun. Perfection is full of surprises because it includes inconsistencies, contradictions, and imperfection. When you allow yourself to experience your perfection, you are confidently aware of your abundance of resources because you possess everything necessary to get the job done.

Perfectionism, however, is no fun at all. Perfectionism is deadly serious, it is a bottomless pit that excludes imperfections and contradictions. When you are lulled by the lie of perfectionism, you are desperately aware that you are lacking the resources necessary to get the job done.

So how do you stop perfectionism and accept your perfect self?

Look to my Fun Commandment, Laugh With Yourself. The best antidote to perfectionism is the willingness to laugh with yourself because your humor nature stamps out perfectionism, while reinforcing your perfection. And laughing with yourself is an effective way to call your humor nature into frequent action.

Of course, you must remember that laughing with yourself does not mean you should humiliate or demean yourself. Willingness to laugh with yourself is the very opposite of self denigration because it is a way of affirming that you are worthy of respect and consideration. Not in spite of, but because of your inconsistencies and contradictions.

Laughing with yourself is a statement that your imperfections are a valuable part of your perfection.

And, by the way, bananas are not picked green so they can ripen on the way to your store. They are picked green because they become inedible if allowed to ripen on the stalk. You, however, are perfect no matter how far along you are in the ripening process!



Cliff Kuhn, M.D.
The Laugh Doctor
"it all starts with a SMILE"

The Natural Medicine of Humor
"Discover a unique, FREE, and incredibly powerful prescription created out of desperation by a (formerly) stressed-out Kentucky psychiatrist"

The Blog Directory