Perfectionism

Perfectionism breeds depression.

The "angel of light" can torment us by encouraging us to set absurdly high expectations for ourselves and for others.

Antidotes to perfectionism

God loves us as we are right now.

God's love is perfect. We cannot increase it by anything that we do.

"We claim progress, not perfection" (AA's Big Book).

We learned how to talk by talking poorly at first.

We learned how to ride a bike by biking poorly at first.

We learned how to swim by swimming poorly at first.

The disciples were far from perfect when they started following Jesus. By following Him, they learned how to follow Him.

We can learn. A man with Down Syndrome said to me, "I'm a slow learner--but I learn."