Finding Grace: Overcoming the Perfectionism Trap

Looking over my son that night, I couldn’t find any bumps or bruises. I searched as thoroughly as I could amidst the ear-piercing shrieks of pain that elevated my blood pressure to dangerous levels. I tried to replay the event in my mind, to calculate exactly in what position, and at what angle, and with what velocity the two-year-old had hit the ground like an X-games analyst would do after an athlete missed a landing.

Vlastimil Koutecky (CC)

One thing you should know about Abram is his propensity to destroy things. He takes special delight in ripping, tearing, throwing, popping or otherwise disintegrating whatever’s in his path. He’s perhaps the cutest child alive and has probably the best temperament of any of our four children as a toddler, but you can’t take your eye off of him for even one minute without discovering he has shredded another office curtain, dumped juice on the carpet, or yanked a wad of hair from his sister’s unsuspecting scalp.

Dear Flawed Person: God's Not Done with You

Hi. My name is Andy, and I’m a perfectionist.

It sounds romantic, I know, but it’s not. It’s paralyzing. I don’t take on new endeavors because of fear of failure. I never believe I’m good enough because there’s always room for improvement. Tasks take twice as long while I work on every detail.

kellinahandbasket (CC)

Yet no matter how hard I work, one thing has become clear: I’m still flawed. Maybe you are too. But there’s good news for imperfect people like you and me.

What to Do with Your Weaknesses

I collected baseball cards when I was a kid.

For Christmas Granny and Papa often bought me a complete set of Topps or Upper Deck or Fleer cards. I knew before unwrapping it what the present was because of its oblong shape. (It was either that or a decanter of liquor.)

Being the weirdo that I am, I never opened the boxes. I knew they had more value in mint condition than if I got them out and played with them.

Matthew Paulson (CC)

So rather than mess them up, I bought a Beckett pricing guide so I could see how much individual cards in those boxes were worth.

One year I received a Topps 1992 complete box set. Checking the guide, I noticed a card from a couple of years before with a ridiculously high price tag and an exclamation mark after it.