Scribd
Upload
724 views

REYES (EW3) - Module 3 - While Task - Lesson 1 (Activity 1) PDF

The document discusses the concept of perfection and argues that it is an illusion, paradox, and enigma. It states that perfection is unattainable as humans are flawed by nature. It also describes perfection as the absence of any flaws, but since flaws are subjective and based on perspective, there are no clear standards to qualify something as perfect. The document further explains that while people strive endlessly for perfection, they ultimately realize it is unachievable and instead we should aim for excellence rather than a perfection that remains eternally out of reach.

Uploaded by

Karren Reyes
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
724 views

REYES (EW3) - Module 3 - While Task - Lesson 1 (Activity 1) PDF

The document discusses the concept of perfection and argues that it is an illusion, paradox, and enigma. It states that perfection is unattainable as humans are flawed by nature. It also describes perfection as the absence of any flaws, but since flaws are subjective and based on perspective, there are no clear standards to qualify something as perfect. The document further explains that while people strive endlessly for perfection, they ultimately realize it is unachievable and instead we should aim for excellence rather than a perfection that remains eternally out of reach.

Uploaded by

Karren Reyes
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Reyes, Karren T.

EW3 (1:00-3:30)
Module 3: While Task-Lesson 1 (Activity 1)

Perfection

“Practice maketh a man perfect” is an old proverb derived from the culled wisdom of
centuries and is one of the most blazoned idioms still passed on today. Perfection, according to
the Oxford dictionary, is “the condition, state, or quality of being free or as free as possible from
all flaws or defects”. But is there really such a thing as perfection? And if there is, what makes a
person ‘perfect’? If human beings can, indeed, achieve the state of total perfection, can standards
be exacted to qualify perfect individuals? For me, perfection is an illusion, a paradox, and an
enigma.

Perfection is an illusion. It is the imaginary pot of gold at the end of the never-ending
rainbow. As humans, we are naturally inclined to search for something we cannot achieve like
perfection. Everybody wants to be perfect, and when we thought we have become perfect, we
believe that we are already invincible and free from criticism, change, and control. Those who
devote their lives to acquire perfection are merely chasing shadows of the void. Perfection is not
something you can activate by toggling a switch or clicking a button. It is an abstract outlook we
created to mask our flawed and fragile natures as humans. After all, we have no conception of
any absolute values of perfection and what is considered as “perfect” therefore, it is impossible to
be perfect in anything and to everyone. Perfection is just an illusion and attempting to achieve it
is insidiously detrimental, fostering feelings of failure and inadequacy.

Perfection is a paradox. Human beings can aspire and do whatever it takes to achieve
perfection and could still end up with not truly attaining it. Perfection, in this sense, is the absence
of all flaws. Depending on the way these flaws are measured, all things are either perfect or
nothing. I once struggled with the paradox of being a perfectionist. During my 11th and 12th grades
in senior high school, I had this aphorism of ‘perfection or nothing’. And so, in every task that was
given to me, I always aspired to make it perfect to make sure that I will get the highest grade.
However, striving to make my work perfect got me so constricted with pressure and anxiety that
it became all-or-nothing procrastination that ended with me not making anything. If ever I felt like
my work is not perfect or is lacking, I will decide not to attend a school day just to re-do my
homework or review my lessons until the time that I felt like I can achieve the perfect score. But
I’ve come to face the reality that perfection is unachievable - that it is possible to strive for
perfection and still get nothing in return. The paradox of perfection is that striving for it may cause
you to often under-perform in all areas of your life.

Perfection is an enigma. It is an anomaly of obscurity and irony. Perfection may be a single


word but it branches out a myriad of disparate ideologies. People strive for perfection in multiple
ways that is why there are no clear-cut standards exacted to qualify individuals as perfect.
Perfection implies doing everything right and doing nothing wrong. Personally, that seems to be
a standard set far too high. An artist can make the most exquisite masterpiece of all and it would
not be perfect. A dance group may perform the best choreography out of its competitors yet it
would still be flawed. A husband and wife may be loving, faithful, and respectful to each other but
their marriage is still imperfect. Much like beauty, perfection is in the eye of the beholder.
Therefore, concepts of perfection are relative. Relative to the individual, to their society, to their
culture, and to their views of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. Perfection thereby derails any idea of an objective
definition. We, humans, are not created for perfection but were created to live. We learn by
making mistakes and surviving. Hence, unravelling the quest for life is the enigma of perfection.

The concept of perfection is entangled in an intellectual mess of illusion, paradox, and


enigma. There is a manifold of notions in striving for perfection and yet everyone ultimately winds
up to the same path. Perfection is unachievable, unimaginable, and futile. That is why we should
not aspire to be perfect but aspire to be real. And to be real is to aim for excellence, not perfection.
To me, the state of absolute perfection cannot be truly attained. It is out there, like the stars. And
like the stars in the blanket of the dark, it shines but never moves. And we try to move as much
as we can in pursuit, but it remains out of reach. As we gaze upwards into the wakening sky,
perfection once again slips from our sight. The time we spent looking up kept us from looking at
what’s ahead of us. The pursuit of perfection, no matter how wondrous it may seem, limits our
ability to be our authentic selves and robs us the vitality of life.

You might also like