What an incredible human being. As a recent graduate myself, this really struck a chord with me. If someone asked me what I would consider to be my biggest flaw, I could say with complete sincerity that it is my indomitable perfectionism. I'm an intelligent, creative, lucky person; I work hard and I frequently excel. But I can't get rid of that little voice in the back of my mind, the one that whispers "you could have done that better, you've let yourself down!" That voice has taken me to some very dark places. Last year, I made myself ill with constantly pushing myself to do better, better, better: to be something more than what I am. But I am finally learning to control my perfectionism: to reign it in and channel it into something worthwhile and productive - because perfectionism can be an asset as well as a curse. As the wonderful J. K. Rowling says, I need to keep sight of what matters most: doing what I love, living a good life, being happy, helping other people and realising that failure is not something to fear but something to learn from.
"Some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all. In which case, you fail by default."
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