Perfection.

We all strive for it. We work for it. We lose sleep over it. We spend money on it. We lose friends for it. We hurt people for it.
Throughout our lives, we are constantly told that we need to work harder. We need to study more. We need to get that higher grade. We need to make that sports team. We need to achieve that perfect GPA.
And for what?
Why do we need to strive for this perfection? Possible answers may include parental pressure, societal pressure, and personal pressure.
In school, students are constantly comparing grades with one another. They are in no way obligated to do so, but they choose to do so anyway. As students, we always look up to those “smartest” in our class as role models.
However, do we ever stop to consider what it takes for them to be the best? The likely answer is no. The problem is that those who are the most successful often are the ones who are working constantly; they are often balancing a ton of different responsibilities. Yet people still idolize those who are always perceived as “better.”
Too often — and perhaps to an unhealthy level — we attach our own self-worth on the accomplishments of others. Everyone is talented in their own way, and more people need to realize this.
Healthy competition is what it is: healthy, but time and time again as humans, we tear ourselves down because someone else did better than we did.
But that’s the beauty of our humanity.
The reality is that someone will always be better than you.
Someone will always be more “perfect” than you. Someone will always be a harder worker, have that higher grade, make that team, or have a better GPA.
We are all made different on purpose. We are all good at different things, and we all have our downfalls in different areas. As a society, it is important to accept the fact that we will never be the best person to exist, but we can still be the best people for ourselves.
If society continues down the path it is going down with our generation, the world will be a sad and anxious place. Our generation, Gen Z, is both competitive and anxious. Our generation seems to have the most mental health issues in comparison to past generations.
To fix this problem, we must all find our self-worth from inside. We need to learn to stop basing our worth on the accomplishments of others. If everyone were to learn these simple principles, our generation would be happier.
We are all amazing people through and through, and as a society, we need to recognize this. Perfection is an impossible standard that we can’t live up to as humans, and we need to accept this as a society.