 So close, but yet so far, a statement that can characterize much of the thought process of a perfectionist after they finish a project or assignment or task or something similar. It drives me crazy, working so hard on something but coming up short. You know that feeling, frustration, anger, sadness, and discouragement. Why can't it just be perfect? We think the only definition of success is perfect, but we know that's not realistic, or at least sometimes we do, and therefore we just try to stick to things that we know we can get close. Things that we're good at, things that we are experienced with, and things that aren't going to surprise us and cause us to make a mistake. When we have to do new things or have new experiences, there's always that little bit or maybe a lot bit of anxiety that goes along with that. We're scared that we won't be able to be perfect. We're scared that we'll be put in a position that will fail. We live with this fear that will fail. We live with this fear that will make a mistake. We live with this fear that will never measure up to this standard that we're shooting for. We want to be perfect, but we just can't. Because of this, many of us have this weight on our shoulders. It causes us to toss and turn into the wee hours of the night. We try to solve this perfectionism that seems to be so core into our being. We think, can we change ourselves? Can we just stop caring about being perfect? Can we just not care when we make a mistake or when we fail? Can we just let ourselves rest for a little bit? Why do we feel the need to be perfect? Here are just a couple reasons. We don't want to let other people down. This one is really tough and one I've experienced before myself. We don't want to disappoint people, but the fact is that we will. It's inevitable that we'll disappoint someone. And that sucks. And believe me, I hate that, that that's a fact, but it is true. When we're shooting for this perfect outcome, it's never going to turn out exactly the way we want it, and that's a hard reality to swallow. But for perfectionists like myself, it's just something that we need to come to terms with and continue to remind ourselves, fuck, we're going to let people down. And that's okay. The facts are that actually most people don't expect perfect. You're working on a project for somebody, you're working on, you're doing something for somebody. They're not expecting perfect. Usually your standard are a lot higher than their standard, and if that's not the case, if they are expecting perfect, now we need to come to terms with the fact that we will never place this person, which is also a harsh reality to come to, but it's true. People that expect perfect of you, you'll never be able to meet their expectations. We don't want other people to think we're a failure. Now this one strikes to the heart of our pride. We don't want other people to think poorly of us, like we're a loser, like we're a failure. So we think, look, if I can just be perfect, if I can just get this right, if I can just do this right, if I can just not make a mistake, then they'll think I'm awesome, then they'll accept me, then they'll think well of me, and we're pulled to this kind of perfectionism because our pride is at stake. What if we're not perfect? People will think I'm a failure, and honestly, this is something that, look, I've struggled with as well, when talking about the YouTube channel too, it's like oh my goodness, a video only got like 50 views, I'm like what a loser, people are going to think I'm a failure, but I need to understand, and this is what we're going to come to for a lot of these points, is who is my master? Who am I serving? Who am I trying to please? Because a lot of this perfectionism comes out of focus on other people and trying to focus and trying to please them, instead of trying to please God, and there's a verse that really pertains to this point. Galatians 1-10 says, for am I now seeking the approval of man or of God, or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. You see when we're seeking to serve God in the things that we're doing, in the projects we have, in the assignments that are due, when we're seeking to serve God in those things, then we can put away this perfectionistic mentality in terms of, look, I'm doing this to please other people, look, God didn't make a mistake when He made you with these perfectionistic tendencies, but we need to keep them in check and understand, look, I want to make excellent and beautiful things and just awesome, you know, whatever it is, whether you're writing a paper, you're making a video, you're working on some carpentry project, you want to make this awesome, and it's not to please other people or to make people think well of you and so they don't think you're a failure, it's so you can glorify God in those things, because that's why He made you. We think perfection is our ticket to happiness. Now I've fallen in this trap too, you think, well, if I just did these things perfect, then I'd be happy. It's because of this constant failure that I'm just like unhappy with life or I feel discontent. Well, we need to come to terms with some facts and some really hard truths and the truths are we can't be perfect. The Bible says for all of sin fallen short of the glory of God. Ever since the garden, we've been falling short, not just in a moral sense, but in like a practical sense, you know, you don't make every shot in basketball, you don't, you know, you're going to get in a car accident because you're not perfect at driving. Well, hopefully you're not going to get in the car accident, but you're going to make mistakes. Like practical mistakes, you're going to burn your toast. Everything is not going to work out perfectly just because we're not living in a perfect world. And when we come to realize that, okay, hey, where can I use these, you know, desires for things to be, you know, beautiful and good and just honoring to God, look, I should be looking towards God and not to, you know, other people or to this idea that once I can do these things perfectly, which won't happen, we'll never be able to meet that standard, then I'll be happy because then happiness is our master. Happiness should not be your master. God should be your master. God should be the one that you're looking to, you know, glorify not a happiness that you're trying to pursue above all else. We think perfection is necessary to get what we want. This one runs along the same lines as that last one. When we use this idea of perfectionism and wanting to be perfect to get what we want, we think, oh, look, if I just do this properly, then I'll get into this school or I'll get this job or people will like me or I'll be happy whenever we use this perfectionism, this, this, this weight on ourselves because we're like, I just need to get what I want. That's wrong, but it can be lifted. It can be lifted, that weight can be lifted because when we understand, look, it's not about what I want. It's not about me trying to be perfect so I can get everything I want out of life. It's about understanding, yeah, I'm flawed. I'm flawed in some big ways, but God has given me skills and talents that I won't be able to use perfectly and I will make mistakes, but I should always be looking to Christ and say, God, how can I use these gifts and how can I do these tasks, assignments, whatever they are for your glory and looking to him and having that weight lifted and just say, I want to do this out of a love for you, God, because I love you, not about trying to please other people or get what you want. We think perfection is required for love and acceptance. Now I'm going to get real with you guys for a second. You know, this is a big, this is a big one for a lot of us and I think this can sneak up on some of us perfectionists because maybe we don't want to acknowledge it. For me, this is something that is prevalent and even making this video, there's a certain element that, look, if I make a perfect video and this video is just like so great and everyone's like, Isaac, this video is so awesome. And they're like, I love this, man. You get that validation. You get that acceptance. You get that love, but it's just like, oh, I got to make this perfect. So there's that pressure you're put on yourself because you think, look, I just got to be perfect. Then I'll get that acceptance and love that my soul craves that validation, that fulfillment. What I've come to realize is that this is no place to look for that validation or acceptance or love. It shouldn't be like I do perfectly then people love and accept me. No, actually, Jesus set the example for how we should love other people. He died for us when we were still sinners. We didn't deserve his love or acceptance, but he died for us anyway. And that's how we should love other people. And conversely, that's how we can be loved by other people. It's not what we do. It's not what we, you know, whether we make a perfect piece of content or, you know, execute perfectly in our job or, you know, make the perfect souffle. These are weird examples. Okay. It's about the fact that, look, Jesus accepts and loves us because of his work on the cross. And because he's loved us first, we can love other people and be loved by other people. We can be released from this perfectionism like I need to be perfect so other people can fully accept me. No, I can look to God for that full acceptance and full wholeness that he provides in himself. And yeah, we'll slip into this perfectionism and we'll look to make other people not think we're a failure. So we try to strive to be, you know, perfect and we want to get that love and acceptance. So we try to be perfect, but we need to continue to look back. Who is God? What has he done? How does he love us? How does he accept us? We don't need to be in bondage to perfectionism. This weight can be lifted and we can be set free and live out our calling with a love for God and love for others. Hey guys, it's Isaac and if you enjoyed this video, please get a like and subscribe to the YouTube channel, putting out two videos a week, one on Monday, one on Thursday. I just want to give a great big shout out to my patrons on Patreon. You guys are the guys that are keeping this channel going and ministry growing. So thank you so much for supporting. If you'd like to support this ministry and mission of daily disciple ministry, please check out patreon.com daily underscore disciple. Thanks for watching guys and I'll see you next time. See you.