Learning Wellness Snippet

Perfectionism is the unreasonable and self-defeating ambition of getting something absolutely right, which makes us difficult to be around and punishing to live with. The origins of perfectionism lie in our imagination, in the ease with which we can conjure up a picture of an ideal state of affairs, compared with the monstrous difficulty of bringing such a state into being by ourselves.

The sickness of perfectionism grows in the fertile gap between our noble visions and our mediocre reality. However, our problems do not ultimately arise from our love of perfection itself. They lie in our reckless tendencies to under-budget for the difficulties of achieving it. The proper target for gentle criticism is premature perfectionism.

How accurately we budget for time and effort depends on a proper understanding of the inherent difficulty of any task. If we fully recognize something as exceptionally arduous, we don’t panic when our first efforts are weak and progress is slow. It’s difficult—but we knew it would be. High standards only become problematic when we think something should be substantially easier than it turns out to be. We then misinterpret our struggles as marks of our own ineptitude, rather than seeing them as an inevitable part of a legitimate, lengthy journey.

Perfectionism is only a problem because we have underbudgeted for the difficulty, not because we are aiming high. It strikes when we imagine we could write a good novel in six months, have a good career by age thirty, or spontaneously figure out how to have a successful marriage. Perfectionism begins to torture us when we lack information about how hard others had to work and how much they had to suffer before reaching their own ideas of perfection.

In a better world, culture would continuously remind us of the first drafts and hidden labors of others, properly alerting us to the true struggles required by anything worthwhile. We would no longer be impatient perfectionists but patient, resilient seekers of excellence. The problem isn’t that we aim for perfection, but that we don’t have an accurate understanding of what perfection truly demands.

At The School of Life, we believe in developing emotional intelligence. To that end, we have created a range of products to support that growth. Find out more at the link on the screen.

With the color, texture, and sweetness of berries, bananas, watermelons, and mangoes, fruit has long been a treasured delicacy.

During his earthly ministry, the Savior compared good fruit to things of eternal worth. He said: “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Every good tree brings forth good fruit.” He encouraged us to gather fruit and to life eternal.

In a vivid dream that we all know well in the Book of Mormon, the prophet Lehi finds himself in a dark and dreary wilderness. There is filthy water, a mist of darkness, strange roads, and forbidden paths as well as a rod of iron along a strait and narrow path leading to a beautiful tree with fruit that makes one happy.

Recounting the dream, Lehi says, “I did partake of the fruit. It was most sweet above all that I had ever tasted, and it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy.” This fruit was more desirable than any other fruit. This precious fruit symbolizes the wondrous blessings of the Savior’s incomparable Atonement.

Not only will we live again following our mortality, but through our faith in Jesus Christ, our repentance, and keeping the commandments, we can be forgiven of our sins and one day stand clean and pure before our Father and His Son.

As we have all learned, even after savoring the precious fruit of the restored gospel, staying true and faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ is still not easily done. We continue to face distractions and deceptions, confusion and commotion, enticements and temptations that attempt to pull our hearts away from the Savior and the joys and duties we have experienced in following Him.

Just compare it to when you've gone without for a while that delicious fruit, whether it be an actual fruit, food, whatever it might be, water, and you’re just yearning for it, and then you get it. It usually tastes quite a bit better at that moment than maybe if you had it day to day. And that’s how I experience the Spirit come back. It was a flood. It was a rush of just sheer joy and happiness, and that the Atonement’s real. I did fall way a little bit. I let myself slide. But through the Atonement, I could come back.

I started reading a lot of opinions about not only the Church but about Christ Himself, and just it started to confuse me. I also had friends who were on the fence as well and like, “Wow, I should make a decision.” At that point, it said many of His disciples left. And He turned to His Twelve, and He said, “Will thou also go away?”

When I heard that in my mind it was like it hit me so hard, like He was saying it to me, “Will you also go away?” And then Peter’s answer when he said: “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” That was my answer.

Although we need not fear, we are to be on guard. At times, little things can upend our spiritual balance. Please don't allow your questions, the insults of others, faithless friends, or unfortunate mistakes and disappointments to turn you away from the sweet, pure, and soul-satisfying blessings that come from the precious fruit of the tree.

Keep your eyes and your hearts centered on the Savior Jesus Christ and the eternal joy that comes only through Him.

Perfectionism is the unreasonable and self-defeating ambition of getting something absolutely right, which makes us difficult to be around and punishing to live with. The origins of perfectionism lie in our imagination, in the ease with which we can conjure up a picture of an ideal state of affairs, compared with the monstrous difficulty of bringing such a state into being by ourselves.

The sickness of perfectionism grows in the fertile gap between our noble visions and our mediocre reality. However, our problems do not ultimately arise from our love of perfection itself. They lie in our reckless tendencies to under-budget for the difficulties of achieving it. The proper target for gentle criticism is premature perfectionism.

How accurately we budget for time and effort depends on a proper understanding of the inherent difficulty of any task. If we fully recognize something as exceptionally arduous, we don’t panic when our first efforts are weak and progress is slow. It’s difficult—but we knew it would be. High standards only become problematic when we think something should be substantially easier than it turns out to be. We then misinterpret our struggles as marks of our own ineptitude, rather than seeing them as an inevitable part of a legitimate, lengthy journey.

Perfectionism is only a problem because we have underbudgeted for the difficulty, not because we are aiming high. It strikes when we imagine we could write a good novel in six months, have a good career by age thirty, or spontaneously figure out how to have a successful marriage. Perfectionism begins to torture us when we lack information about how hard others had to work and how much they had to suffer before reaching their own ideas of perfection.

In a better world, culture would continuously remind us of the first drafts and hidden labors of others, properly alerting us to the true struggles required by anything worthwhile. We would no longer be impatient perfectionists but patient, resilient seekers of excellence. The problem isn’t that we aim for perfection, but that we don’t have an accurate understanding of what perfection truly demands.

At The School of Life, we believe in developing emotional intelligence. To that end, we have created a range of products to support that growth. Find out more at the link on the screen.

With the color, texture, and sweetness of berries, bananas, watermelons, and mangoes, fruit has long been a treasured delicacy.

During his earthly ministry, the Savior compared good fruit to things of eternal worth. He said: “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Every good tree brings forth good fruit.” He encouraged us to gather fruit and to life eternal.

In a vivid dream that we all know well in the Book of Mormon, the prophet Lehi finds himself in a dark and dreary wilderness. There is filthy water, a mist of darkness, strange roads, and forbidden paths as well as a rod of iron along a strait and narrow path leading to a beautiful tree with fruit that makes one happy.

Recounting the dream, Lehi says, “I did partake of the fruit. It was most sweet above all that I had ever tasted, and it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy.” This fruit was more desirable than any other fruit. This precious fruit symbolizes the wondrous blessings of the Savior’s incomparable Atonement.

Not only will we live again following our mortality, but through our faith in Jesus Christ, our repentance, and keeping the commandments, we can be forgiven of our sins and one day stand clean and pure before our Father and His Son.

As we have all learned, even after savoring the precious fruit of the restored gospel, staying true and faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ is still not easily done. We continue to face distractions and deceptions, confusion and commotion, enticements and temptations that attempt to pull our hearts away from the Savior and the joys and duties we have experienced in following Him.

Just compare it to when you've gone without for a while that delicious fruit, whether it be an actual fruit, food, whatever it might be, water, and you’re just yearning for it, and then you get it. It usually tastes quite a bit better at that moment than maybe if you had it day to day. And that’s how I experience the Spirit come back. It was a flood. It was a rush of just sheer joy and happiness, and that the Atonement’s real. I did fall way a little bit. I let myself slide. But through the Atonement, I could come back.

I started reading a lot of opinions about not only the Church but about Christ Himself, and just it started to confuse me. I also had friends who were on the fence as well and like, “Wow, I should make a decision.” At that point, it said many of His disciples left. And He turned to His Twelve, and He said, “Will thou also go away?”

When I heard that in my mind it was like it hit me so hard, like He was saying it to me, “Will you also go away?” And then Peter’s answer when he said: “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” That was my answer.

Although we need not fear, we are to be on guard. At times, little things can upend our spiritual balance. Please don't allow your questions, the insults of others, faithless friends, or unfortunate mistakes and disappointments to turn you away from the sweet, pure, and soul-satisfying blessings that come from the precious fruit of the tree.

Keep your eyes and your hearts centered on the Savior Jesus Christ and the eternal joy that comes only through Him.