Imperfect Is Perfect!

Love your imperfect self! I love being imperfect. Know why? It makes me human. There is a gift to being imperfect. You don’t have to conform to others perceptions of who you should be. It gives you the courage to say what needs to be said, take action, pursue your dreams and become your divine self.

Perceiving that people are perfect eliminates the mystery of their uniqueness, their experiences and their ability to be themselves. Life isn’t perfect, it is juicy, sloppy, fun, sad, joyous and crazed. It is filled with successes, mistakes, lessons and growth.

It is important to strive to reach your highest potential, to push yourself to heights you imagined or maybe you never imagined, but the process is far, far from perfect. It is messy, sloppy, exhilarating and adventurous.

Humans are not robots destined to do the same thing day in and day out. If you are doing that beware, life will create sloppy scenarios to grow, change and challenge you. I think that is happening now. People got comfortable where they were; they believed that all was ‘perfect’ they forgot to grow, challenge and be more, do more and have more. So life made life imperfect.

The best times in my life were when I let go of being perfect or fitting into someone’s perception of me or who I should be. It is when I’ve grown and loved life the most. Opening the business, learning finances, learning to ride a motorcycle, doing stand up and challenging perceptions of diversity, success, leadership and who is diverse.

Writing my newsletters is an art of imperfection! To be able to be free with my thoughts and share them with you, so that you have the freedom to be who you truly are is a gift. If I think about being perfect, literate, or profound I would not be writing this. I have to be willing to be imperfect and know that it is okay... better than okay, because it is my perfect me... imperfect but showing up.

That doesn’t mean I don’t strive to be better, improve my skills, ask for advice or push myself to grow and learn more. Just the opposite is true. Knowing that I am imperfect gives me the freedom to ask questions, to seek advice and to learn. I love attending classes, listening to CD's, watching DVD’s and listening to people and their brilliance. I walk away feeling joyous and blessed. I must say I’m going to live a very long tim,e because I have lots to learn and have lots of areas for growth.

How about you? Are you perfect? Are you willing to be imperfect and take on the leadership role that is being offered to you? Are you willing to be sloppy and tackle the spreadsheet that you have been avoiding? Are you willing to present and make mistakes with lots of uhs, ohs, and duhs? You can’t grow, challenge and live a life of brilliance if you aren’t willing to be imperfect.

Successful people are imperfect. Donald Trump is imperfect, he loves to push himself and others around him to be more, do more and have more. President elect Obama is imperfect – we chuckle when his wife shares his imperfections. Oprah is imperfec,t which is why she is so loved.

I presented to a group of middle managers who worked for a large corporation. The culture communicated perfection. What I saw and experienced was a group of fearful, stressed, extremely conservative, stiff people. After surveying their employees I learned that many were looking for new jobs, many were ‘checked out’ and most laughed at thier managers behind their back. Everyone knew the managers were imperfect. I’ll guess that the managers knew they were, but were trained to act like they weren’t. Sometimes it takes a real shock to rock the boat. That is what happened for this organization and the management team... shocked and now in reorganization.

Diversity and inclusion is imperfect. I love the way people express their opinion about D&I through their body language – most people get a glazed, ‘oh here we go again’ look over their eyes. For me diversity and inclusion is really a driver of motivation. Each of us is unique, and wonderfully imperfect. How you are encouraged, supported and managed will determine whether or not you are willing to be the glorious imperfect leader you really are. Diversity and inclusion is celebration. It is the cheering and motivation that permeates every division, unit, region, country that communicates “Without all of you, your perfections and imperfections we can’t reach our highest potential. We need you, all of you – men, women and everything that makes you ... you! We need you to be imperfect and be leaders. We need you to grow, evolve, teach and reach others” This is not touchy feely, this is real and this is now. Employees who feel included are more engaged, more productive, more innovative and more committed.

Too often our imperfections and the perception that others are perfect, better, smarter or more privileged can make people feel excluded. The feelings of exclusion include denial, anger, depression, loss of self, feeling trapped, withdrawal, shame, guilt and hyper vigilance. Everyone, and I mean everyone, has felt excluded.

Time to move on and learn how to be phenomenally imperfect and included in this wacky world of ours.

Have a wonderful imperfect Holiday and New Year!

This newsletter is about you. You the incredible person you are, the leader, reaching your potential.

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Pegine Echevarria, MSW, copyrights all material on this site. Information from this site may be reprinted or quoted by members of the media, provided a specific credit to Pegine Echevarria, MSW is included.
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