In this excellent Guardian article ‘Want to transform your life? Stop chasing perfection‘, the issue of perfectionism and how it influences negatively our lives is addressed in a straightforward manner. The main idea of the article is that we should learn to be more contented with what we have rather than trying to be perfect – and that this trend would show in the recent self-help literature.
The main recommendation is “Give up the rat race, accept reality and have the courage to be disliked – the latest self-help trend is not about self-reinvention but finding contentment in the life you have“
According to the author, “In response to the prevailing mood, there has been a noticeable change of tone in the world of self-help, a publishing genre historically dedicated to promising massive, near-effortless transformation overnight, or in a couple of weeks at most“. The author then describes a number of trends including some trends inspired by Buddhism about living in the present and accepting one’s being instead of chasing for transformation.
I am not so sure about this trend in a world that exposes us increasingly to the more than perfect pictures of others on social networks and thus to emotions of envy and wishes to transform one’s lives. There is definitely a tension between several views of the word: living a contented present with minimum means, and self-transforming to a better self. And both co-exist without being necessarily opposed.
