A Publication of Lighthouse Consulting Services

  • Do what you can, and say no when you need to. 
  • Accept and value your efforts and yourself.
  • View tough situations as challenges, rather than problems to overcome.
  • Explore and love your imperfections as well as your strengths and good qualities.

I discovered a wonderful story that I think says it all:

“ A man who took great pride in his lawn found himself with a large crop of dandelions. He tried every method he knew to get rid of them. Still they plagued him. Finally he wrote to the Department of Agriculture. He enumerated all the things he had tried and closed his letter with the question: “What shall I do now?” In due course, the reply came: “We suggest you learn to love them.”

Anthony de Mello

The Song of the Bird

Like the dandelions, we need to learn how to love ourselves with our imperfections, and not let the flaws take importance and attention away from our strengths. After all, perfection is all relative and is based on a perception of what we behold as being “perfect”. When you find yourself striving towards that model of perfection you may want to ask yourself several questions like , “Why am I holding out this model as being better than my current “self”?; What are the underlying reasons for wanting to change?; and “What small steps can I make in order to revise this goal to be more realistic?”.

 
Remember, life is filled with opportunities for learning and growing. The first step is to appreciate yourself right here and now with all your “imperfections”. The more you explore and challenge negative beliefs, the stronger you will feel. Then your courage will grow, and you’ll find that it’s ok to be imperfect.

 This article contains some modified concepts from the Systematic Training for Effective Parenting Program, developed by Don Dinkmeyer, Sr., Gary D. McKay and Don Dinkmeyer, Jr.

This information contained in this article is not meant to be a substitute for professional counseling.

Permission is needed from Lighthouse Consulting Services to reproduce any portion provided in this article. © 2000

 

 

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