Give Up the Need for Perfection

When you expect perfection, you're almost always disappointed

Picture by Pixabay.

When I used to own a bar, we had Karaoke night twice a week, and I would always make sure to be mysteriously absent.

My voice is terrible. When I used to sing in the car with the radio, my daughter thought that I was punishing her for something. My singing has frequently been compared to a plethora of dead animals, and “Korn on crack.”

So, when my good friend the Karaoke DJ asked me why I was never there on karaoke night, I told him that my singing is terrible. He told me, “Karaoke” actually means “terrible singing” in Japanese. He told me that no matter how bad my voice is, I should give it a try.

After that, I made my first go at Karaoke. I used to look like a little blonde barbie doll in my 20’s, so I decided that if I sang “Barbie Girl” it would be funny and ironic, and it wouldn’t matter if it was bad.

I sang karaoke, and danced along with the song. It was terrible. But it was also fun.

No one bothered telling me how bad I sang, since I had been telling them all for months. But most of the bar did sneak out and take a smoke break.

Learning to embrace my terrible singing actually became freeing. I knew that no matter what I sang, it was going to be bad. That allowed me to sing whatever I wanted, from Elvis and the Beatles to Britney Spears and Kelly Clarkson. I sang my heart out and had fun.

When I sang my terrible songs to a mostly empty room, it allowed me to express my creativity in a new way and have fun. It taught me that it is ok to do things even if it isn’t any good, and it isn’t appreciated by anyone.

What I Learned from Karaoke

Letting go of the expectation of perfection is freeing.

After we decide that we can do things that we are bad at, it opens up our lives and our minds to infinite possibilities. I learned that it is ok to do things even if we know it isn’t going to be any good. Releasing expectations allows us to play and have fun with life.

Just like my singing, my life doesn’t have to be perfect. I can accept that it is going to be bad sometimes. When you release expectations, you can allow yourself to do more. You allow yourself to do anything, and everything.

When we don’t have those paralyzing expectations anymore, it allows us to take a leap of faith. It is only when we take that leap, that we realize we are able to fly.