Perfectionism, often perceived as a relentless pursuit of high standards, can be both a blessing and a curse. From artists to entrepreneurs, the chase for flawless execution is a journey that many embark upon, yet seldom reach its elusive end. "Quotes about perfectionism" serve as a testament to this age-old quest, capturing the essence of this relentless drive and the emotions it evokes.
These quotes, rich in wisdom and insight, remind us that while perfection may be an admirable aim, it's the process and growth that truly matter.
Quotes About Perfectionism (2024)
Perfectionism, with its double-edged sword, has inspired thinkers, artists, and leaders throughout history. Delve into these reflections and insights on the pursuit of perfection and the intricate dance between its beauty and its burdens.
"Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence." – Vince Lombardi
"Strive for excellence, not perfection." – H. Jackson Brown Jr.
"The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection." – George Orwell
"Have no fear of perfection – you'll never reach it." – Salvador Dalí
"Perfectionism is the enemy of progress." – Winston Churchill
"Perfection is the enemy of the good." – Voltaire
"To banish imperfection is to destroy expression." – John Ruskin
"Done is better than perfect." – Sheryl Sandberg
"Perfectionism is self-abuse of the highest order." – Anne Wilson Schaef
"Perfection is a stick with which to beat the possible." – Rebecca Solnit
"The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself." – Anna Quindlen
"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
"Perfectionism is a dangerous state of mind in an imperfect world." – Robert Hillyer
"The condition of perfection is idleness: the aim of perfection is youth." – Oscar Wilde
"The root of perfectionism is a desire to avoid failure at all costs." – Brene Brown
"Our perfection lies in our imperfection." – Santosh Kalwar
"Perfection is a full stop. Ever the climbing was to be my plight." – John Keats
"The more perfect a thing is, the more susceptible to good and bad treatment it is." – Dante Alighieri
"The perfect is the enemy of the good." – Italian Proverb
"Perfectionism kills art. I find that if I criticise myself, it spoils the fun. You can get paralysed by analysis – it takes all the playfulness away." – Geri Halliwell
"If you look for perfection, you'll never be content." – Leo Tolstoy
"Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull." – W. Somerset Maugham
"Perfection is a high mountain. Don’t gaze at it but climb!" – Mehmet Murat Ildan
"The pursuit of perfection often impedes improvement." – George Will
"We adore perfection because we can't have it; it would disgust us if we had it." – Emile Cioran
"Perfection is not just about control. It’s also about letting go." – Darren Aronofsky
"Perfectionism becomes a badge of honor with you playing the part of the suffering hero." – David D. Burns
"Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but rather when there is nothing more to take away." – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
"Perfection is so impossible; it's better to strive for excellence." – Victoria Principal
"Perfection, fortunately, is not the only alternative to mediocrity." – Lois Wyse
"Perfection is terrible; it can't have children." – Sylvia Plath
"Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in." – Leonard Cohen
"Perfectionism is not a quest for the best. It is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves, the part that tells us that nothing we do will ever be good enough." – Julia Cameron
"Perfection is not the plan. The plan is to feel good." – Abraham Hicks
"Perfectionism is just fear in fancy shoes and a mink coat." – Elizabeth Gilbert
"It is through art, and through art only, that we can realize our perfection." – Oscar Wilde
"Gold cannot be pure, and people cannot be perfect." – Chinese Proverb
"Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without." – Confucius
"The road to perfection is a stony path." – Greek Proverb
"I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence I can reach for; perfection is God's business." – Michael J. Fox
"Perfection is a moving target." – George Fisher
"Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor." – Anne Lamott
"The demand for perfection is always a sign of a misunderstanding of the ends of art." – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"Perfectionism is a twenty-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, it’s the thing that’s really preventing us from taking flight." – Brené Brown
"When you aim for perfection, you discover it’s a moving target." – George Fisher
"I never expect to see a perfect work from imperfect man." – Alexander Hamilton
"The closest to perfection a person ever comes is when he fills out a job application form." – Stanley Randall
"Imperfection is in some sort essential to all that we know of life." – John Ruskin
"If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done." – Ecclesiastes 11:4
"Perfection is a trifle dull. It is not the least of life's ironies that this, which we all aim at, is better not quite achieved." – W. Somerset Maugham
"Nature often holds up a mirror so we can see more clearly the ongoing processes of growth, renewal, and transformation in our lives." – Mary Ann Brussat
"Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections." – Unknown
"A good garden may have some weeds." – Thomas Fuller
"There are no perfect human beings! Persons can be found who are good, very good indeed, in fact, great. There do in fact exist creators, seers, sages, saints, shakers, and movers…even if they are uncommon and do not come by the dozen." – Abraham Maslow
"Perfectionism is slow death." – Hugh Prather
"Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism." – David M. Burns
"Perfectionism is the unparalleled defense for emotionally abandoned children." – Pete Walker
"One of the basic rules of the universe is that nothing is perfect. Perfection simply doesn’t exist. Without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist." – Stephen Hawking
"Always live up to your standards – by lowering them, if necessary." – Mignon McLaughlin
"A diamond with a flaw is worth more than a pebble without imperfections." – Chinese Proverb
"To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often." – Winston Churchill
"The maxim ‘Nothing but perfection’ may be spelled ‘Paralysis’." – Winston Churchill
"The most valuable things in life are not measured in monetary terms. The really important things are not houses and lands, stocks and bonds, automobiles and real estate, but friendships, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love, and faith." – Bertrand Russell
"The only real conflict you will ever have in your life won’t be with others, but with yourself." – Shannon L. Alder
"Perfect should never be a goal. Perfect just happens if you let it." – Wendy Mass
"The only true measure of success is the ratio between what we might have done and what we might have been on the one hand, and the thing we have made and the things we have made of ourselves on the other." – H.G. Wells
"If you chase perfection, you often catch excellence." – William Fowble
"Once you accept the fact that you're not perfect, then you develop some confidence." – Rosalynn Carter
"The perfection of art is to conceal art." – Quintilian
"You were born to be real, not to be perfect." – Ralph Marston
"Perfection is found in accepting your imperfections." – Bridgett Devoue
"Your imperfections make you beautiful, they make you who you are." – Demi Lovato
"Perfection is boring. If a face doesn't have mistakes, it's nothing." – Kevyn Aucoin
"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." – Oscar Wilde
"Every artist was first an amateur." – Ralph Waldo Emerson
"I don't want to be perfect, but I do want to be a role model. My mom always tells me that imperfections equal beauty. All of us are imperfect." – Miley Cyrus
"If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word." – Margaret Atwood
"Perfection paralyzes." – Charlie Jane Anders
"Excellence does not require perfection." – Henry James
"It is only imperfection that complains of what is imperfect. The more perfect we are the more gentle and quiet we become towards the defects of others." – Joseph Addison
"The perfect man uses his mind as a mirror. It grasps nothing. It regrets nothing. It receives but does not keep." – Chuang Tzu
"Flaws are human nature. Perfection is not." – Tarryn Fisher
"Be happy with being you. Love your flaws. Own your quirks. And know that you are just as perfect as anyone else, exactly as you are." – Ariana Grande
"There is a kind of beauty in imperfection." – Conrad Hall
"We need to find the courage to say 'NO' to the things and people that are not serving us if we want to rediscover ourselves and live our lives with authenticity." – Barbara De Angelis
"Embrace the glorious mess that you are." – Elizabeth Gilbert
"I don't believe in perfection. I don't think there is such a thing. But the energy of wanting things to be as great as possible, and the care that goes into those things… that feels really good." – Mark Zuckerberg
"In nature, nothing is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they're still beautiful." – Alice Walker
"Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we're all in this together." – Brené Brown
"Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way." – Al Franken
"We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love." – Tom Robbins
"Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life." – Anne Lamott
"Perfection of means and confusion of ends seem to characterize our age." – Albert Einstein
"The only nice thing about being imperfect is the joy it brings to others." – Doug Larson
"The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself." – Anna Quindlen
"The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life." – Ken Watanabe
"To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often." – Winston Churchill
"I will not reason and compare: my business is to create." – William Blake
"The best is the enemy of the good." – Voltaire
"Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right.’ Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along." – Napoleon Hill
"Perfection itself is imperfection." – Vladimir Horowitz
"There’s no need to be perfect to inspire others. Let people get inspired by how you deal with your imperfections." – Ziad K. Abdelnour
"You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful." – Amy Bloom
"The beauty of the world lies in the diversity of its people." – Unknown
"There is no perfection, only beautiful versions of brokenness." – Shannon L. Alder
"Everything you are going through is preparing you for what you asked for." – Unknown
"What if you wake up some day, and you’re 65, or 75, and you never got your memoir or novel written; or you didn’t go swimming in warm pools and oceans all those years because your thighs were jiggly and you had a nice big comfortable tummy; or you were just so strung out on perfectionism and people-pleasing that you forgot to have a big juicy creative life, of imagination and radical silliness and staring off into space like when you were a kid? It’s going to break your heart. Don’t let this happen." – Anne Lamott
"I am not in this world to live up to other people's expectations, nor do I feel that the world must live up to mine." – Fritz Perls
"Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery." – J.K. Rowling
"Perfection is a myth. Nurturing yourself is the reality." – Tina Payne Bryson
Navigating the complex realm of perfectionism can be challenging, but it becomes more understandable when we delve into these "Quotes about perfectionism." These words of wisdom remind us that our quest for perfection can sometimes be a double-edged sword.
It's essential to strike a balance, appreciating our imperfections as integral components of our uniqueness and understanding that the pursuit of excellence doesn't necessitate flawless execution. Embracing our true selves, flaws and all, is the ultimate path to fulfillment and authentic living.
