It was a rainy Tuesday when my baking experiment went up in literal flames. I had decided to surprise my family with a homemade sourdough loaf. Instagram made it look easy enough—just a pinch of patience, a sprinkling of precision, and voilà, the perfect crusty bread. What could go wrong?
As it turned out, a lot. Somewhere between an overfed starter and a mistimed bake, my sourdough turned into a flat, smoky brick. As I stared at the charred loaf, smoke alarm blaring in the background, I felt the familiar sting of disappointment creep in. Another failed attempt at being “perfect.”
That day wasn’t about bread, though. It was about letting go of the idea that every effort needs to meet some ideal standard. It was about realizing that chasing perfection can burn you out faster than a too-hot oven.
Why Do We Chase Perfection?
If you’ve ever rewritten a text five times before hitting send, or hesitated to start a project because you “weren’t ready,” you know the perfection trap. It’s this sneaky little voice that says, “Not yet—it’s not good enough.”
For me, that voice showed up in everything from work presentations to baking sourdough. It whispered that I needed to get things just right, or else. But what’s “or else”? Failure? Judgment? Embarrassment? When I finally looked closer, I realized that “perfect” wasn’t protecting me from those things; it was just paralyzing me.
The Problem with Perfect
The truth is, perfectionism looks good on paper—it sounds like striving for excellence or having high standards. But in real life, it’s more like staring at a blank page, unable to write the first word because you’re scared it won’t be brilliant.
I used to think that perfect meant “worthy.” If I nailed the project, aced the presentation, or baked the best bread, I’d feel like I’d earned my place. What I didn’t see was how often perfectionism stopped me before I even began.
Somewhere along the way, I realized this: perfect doesn’t exist. It’s a moving target, and the more you chase it, the further away it feels.
Progress Beats Perfect Every Time
After my sourdough disaster, I tried again the next weekend. This time, I decided not to aim for Instagram-worthy bread. My goal was simpler: bake something edible. I let the dough rise a little less, skipped the fancy scoring, and didn’t obsess over every step.
When I pulled that second loaf from the oven, it wasn’t flawless, but it was mine. And it tasted amazing.
That loaf taught me a valuable lesson: progress, however small, is always better than stalling out in pursuit of perfection.
Rewriting Your Own Rules
Letting go of perfection doesn’t mean lowering your standards or being careless. It means shifting the focus to growth, curiosity, and doing your best with what you have today.
Here’s what helped me:
- Redefining success. Success isn’t about flawless results; it’s about showing up and trying. Whether that’s writing one paragraph, cooking a meal, or taking a walk, small steps count.
- Embracing mistakes. Every mistake is a lesson. My flat loaf taught me more about baking than a perfect one ever could.
- Finding joy in the process. The act of trying—mixing ingredients, kneading dough, learning as I go—was worth celebrating, even if the outcome wasn’t perfect.
A Life Worth Living Isn’t Perfect
The next time you feel the pull of perfection, ask yourself: what would happen if I just started? What if “good enough” was enough?
For me, that charred loaf became a reminder of something bigger. Life isn’t about getting everything right—it’s about rolling up your sleeves, getting messy, and being okay with the smoke alarms along the way.
So here’s to imperfect bread, unfinished projects, and trying again tomorrow. Because life, like sourdough, is better when you embrace the imperfections.
What’s one thing you’ve been holding off on because it’s not “perfect” yet? Maybe today’s the day to let it be messy, and just start.
