The Balance of Guilt and Perfectionism
As the holidays came and went, I thought about the illusion of the perfect present, the perfect family or the perfect hostess. For many rushing around equates having the Christmas spirit. Shopping too much. Too many parties. Eating too much. Of course we want a wonderful holiday. We want others to enjoy our gifts and cookies. But trying to create the "perfect" holiday may be an unreasonable expectation for us. If we do not live up to our expectations or try to achieve our perfect holiday then we feel guilty. What a rollercoaster!
I will share what I learned this holiday. I learned that I have limits. I learned that I am not perfect! Whew! I learned that my family has quirks. I learned that Christmas is in my heart and I appreciate the abundance of love and beauty that surrounds me.
For me, guilt is for the person who committs crimes against society and not for me for making ugly cut out cookies. If I feel guilty for not being perfect then I am using guilt as a way of punishing myself. In fact, if I feel guilty then I am believing in the illusion of perfectionism. My goal is to be real and accept myself, love others and do the best that I can with what I have. There is no room for perfectionism and guilt.