Be Proud to be a Work in Progress
I will never be the perfect husband, friend, son, brother, or father, but as long as I always act with pure intentions and strive to improve myself at all times then I will be happy. I am proud to consider myself a "work in progress" because it allows me to be free to be myself, try new things, and adapt as my life changes. You should try it sometime.
I will never be perfect for I am always a work in progress and that makes me truly happy.
Work in Progress
Being a work in progress is a wonderful thing. It means you are never “finished” which means that you always have the chance to improve yourself and become something and someone better than who you are already. It allows you the ability to be comfortable with making mistakes and accept yourself for you who you are.
If you want to argue that you are not a work in progress then the only assumption that can be made is that you think you are perfect. And if you are perfect then you would never be wrong and you would certainly never make a mistake. Can you handle that kind of pressure for the rest of your life?
That is the pressure you put on yourself when your goal is perfection instead of constant improvement. You do not have to put up with this pressure though as long as you are willing to accept that no one can actually be perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. But when you start to recognize that you are actually just a work in progress then you can acknowledge your mistakes without fear because you can happily admit to not being perfect. Say it loud: "I am not perfect and I make mistakes. I am a work in progress!" It is actually quite liberating.
Being a work in progress is not just about being able to acknowledge your mistakes though. You need to be actively seeking learning opportunities, identifying how you can improve, and striving to adapt and grow yourself. The whole process begins with self-observation.
Self-Observation
Self-observation is the ability to actively monitor your thoughts and actions almost as if you are watching yourself from the 3rd person perspective. It is a key skill for living in the moment, and it can take some getting used to.
When you begin self-observation the point is simply to observe. Watch yourself and how you act in every situation. What are you thinking? What movements do you make? What thing do you say? Once you start paying close attention to yourself, like this you will notice that you start questioning why you do certain things.
Questioning why will have a profound effect on you. It will open your eyes to the underlying reasons that drive your every action and it will allow you to begin to identify habits, actions, and traits that you want to change. Welcome to being a work in progress. It may be daunting at first but once you start down the path of purposeful self-improvement your life will improve dramatically.
Don't Settle for Perfection
Some people are afraid to be a work in progress. The main reason for this is ill-founded negativity towards the concept and a general push from modern media to want perfection. Unfortunately there is no such thing as perfection and actually trying to achieve it, or believing that you have achieved it, is the real problem. If you do not want to be a work in progress then you are stagnating and just wasting your time.
Let’s say for arguments sake that right now you think you are perfect (you’re not) and thus you never need to improve (you do). You would reject the notion of being a work in progress and be content with who you are right now. But that locks you in to being the same person for the rest of your life. Will you still consider the current you to be perfect in 10 years time? No, because then it will be the "old you" and it wont suit your life experience. You would be 10 years out of date.
Sure, you might think that the person you are right now is pretty good and I hope that it is really true. But what happens in the future when you have lived more, seen more, and had newer experiences? Your life will have changed and you will need to have changed with it or be left lagging behind, holding on to a past image which you thought was good enough.
Let go of the silly concept we call perfection and allow yourself to be a work in progress. Be proud to make mistakes, just as long as you learn from them.