There Are No Perfect People

I’m not sure who needs to hear this today, but in case it’s you who needs to be reminded:

There are no perfect people.

There are lots of people trying to better themselves and improve their lives, but none of them are perfect.

It’s important for us to remember that, because sometimes, from the outside looking in, it’s easy to think otherwise.

I was recently reading a magazine profile piece of a well-known family. It was in one of those magazines you’d find in a grocery store checkout—complete with beautiful photos of the family and their gorgeous home on the cover.

Based on the article, it would appear this family was picture-perfect. The home was immaculate. The marriage was honest, authentic, built on nothing but love. The children were impressive. Even the couples’ careers were taking off based on the author’s description.

It would be easy for someone reading the article to become quickly jealous and envious of the two in the article.

Because from everything written, it appeared, their lives were perfect.

But I know better. Oh, I don’t know the two in the article, but I know life and I know human beings well enough to know that their life isn’t nearly as perfect as it appears on the pages of this glossy magazine.

I know, when the journalist and photographer aren’t there, that the couple argues at times, the kids aren’t always behaved, and the kitchen isn’t always clean. Because I know people, I know each of them struggle with self-doubt, or pride, or selfish ambition, or fear of never measuring up to someone else featured in the same magazine.

That’s what life looks like—trials, temptations, mistakes, regrets, always falling a little bit short. That’s what life looks for me, for you, and everyone else.

Over the years, I’ve gotten to know quite a few well-known writers in the self-help field. They write fabulous books with wonderfully helpful ideas. But I think, at times, we can read these books and begin to incorrectly assume that each author has life entirely figured out.

Again, I can attest (firsthand this time), that is not the case. They struggle with the same issues as all of us—divorce, fear, addiction, pride, lack of discipline, just to name a few.

Now, that’s not to say their books aren’t helpful or true. It just means that nobody is perfect. Life never is.

Again, I don’t know who needs to hear this today. But I feel compelled to write it. It is too easy to get frustrated with our own life when we place others on a pedestal assuming they’ve got everything figured out.

Trust me, they don’t. Nobody is as successful as Instagram makes them look, nobody is as beautiful as filters make them seem, nobody is as disciplined as their writing describes them, and nobody is as put together as their social media portrays.

That being said…

I do know a whole lot of people who are working their tail off to become their best self.

They are working to declutter their possessions.

They are trying to become more intentional with their finances.

They are striving to be better parents, better spouses, or better mentors in their community.

They are working to overcome addiction or unhealthy habits.

They are studying in a field, developing a craft, reading books, or listening to podcasts in areas they desire improvement.

They are waking early or staying up late.

They are hitting the gym, changing their diet, or testing out the newest productivity hacks from the seminar they attended last month.

There are people in this world working hard to become better. They are not perfect, but they are striving to be better than the person they were yesterday.

And you should be one of them—no matter your current season of life.

You should strive for more.

Precisely because: There are no perfect people.

We all have room to grow.