The Paradox of Perfection
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Faith on Monday, September 14, 2009 12:00 PM
I have a problem with perfectionism.
If I read an inspiring thought, but the sentence communicating it has a glaring error in it, it will be nearly impossible for me to focus on the thought rather than on the error.
Having high standards can be useful. It gets things done. It gets things done well. But obsession with perfection can be a liability. It can cause me to miss the forest because I’m staring at the spot where one of the trees is missing a branch.
I’m in a lifelong quest to conquer my perfectionism. It’s difficult, but I consider it vitally important.
Here’s why: because being perfect is not my job.
I recently read Michael Ruhlman’s book The Soul of a Chef. In it he writes about three professional chefs, covering in the most detail Thomas Keller, chef-owner of the famous French Laundry restaurant.
Chef Keller is obsessed with perfection. According to Ruhlman, his high standards are a reason for his success, and also what keeps him pushing, never satisfied, working insane hours in search of an ideal that he himself admits must remain elusive. “‘[Perfection] doesn’t exist, because once you reach it, it’s not perfect anymore. It means something else. The bar rises to some other plateau.’”
To be fair to Keller, I think this kind of incredibly high standard can be useful when you apply it to one area only. His life’s work is the craft of cooking, so it is good for him to always be improving on it.
But in general, I think it’s most useful to recognize the desire for perfection - deeply rooted in all of us - for what it really is: the desire for God.
The Catechism says,
The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for. -CCC 27
Truth and happiness are embodied in the One who is the source of all that is good, true, and happy. Perfection Himself. It’s not an accident that we can see the ideal of perfection, because we are made to be united to Perfection through all eternity.
Chef Keller’s statement about the elusiveness of perfection struck me, because how often does a person admit that he is seeking something that cannot be found?
It also struck me because - while he wasn’t talking about theology at all - he hit on a fundamental principle. Perfection is out of our reach. That is most certainly true.
But we as Christians are blessed because we know that God has created us unable to achieve perfection not because he wants us to live and die in frustration, but because he wants us to hand the whole thing over to him. He doesn’t want us to climb to heaven. He wants to pour out his grace upon us, and bring us there.
This is why I fight daily against my own perfectionism. I don’t think standards are unimportant. But I know that I no matter how much I reach and achieve, it won’t make me happy.
What will? Recognizing my own flawed nature and giving in. Resting in Perfection Himself. Ultimately, it’s the only road to happiness.
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