Bonjour Royal friends!

Welcome to my blog, a ‘tongue-in-chic’ happiness lifestyle guide from a funny princess point of view!

Today I’d like to talk to you today about success and how “It’s not about perfection; it’s about heading in the right direction.” 

The world glorifies perfection, yet perfection is an elusive concept, a distant horizon that seems to recede with every step we take towards it. The more we chase perfection, the more it slips through our fingers like fine grains of sand. It’s time to shift our perspective and embrace the imperfections that make us uniquely human.

In the pursuit of perfection, we often overlook the charm of the crooked smile, the allure of the unfinished masterpiece, and the beauty in life’s unplanned detours. Imperfections are not blemishes; they are the brushstrokes that give depth to the canvas of our existence. They are the garden fodder that helps us grow into uniquely brilliant, colorful, beautiful flowers.

The Right Direction

The true essence of progress lies in the direction we choose, not the unattainable destination of flawlessness.

What we must remember that each step forward, no matter how small, is a triumph in itself.  Imagine a winding road with twists and turns, uphill climbs, and downhill descents. It’s not about traversing the road flawlessly; it’s about relishing the adventure and learning from the bumps along the way.

Progress is the compass guiding us in the right direction, reminding us that the journey itself is a remarkable achievement. I feel this kind of progress continually as a voice student. One day, as the Lyric Soprano that I am, I’m barking like a dog on a mid-range note.  A few months later, on that very same troublesome middle range note, I’m a bird.

Embracing the Learning Curve

Mistakes, setbacks, and failures are not signs of inadequacy but milestones on the road to growth. I know some of my biggest mistakes have given me strength to move forward, because they show me the core of my resilience.

In a college production of The Owl and the Pussycat, the student producer/director pleaded with me to take the starring role, the one played by Barbra Streisand. After much persuasion by him and my friends, I decided not to wimp out, but to rise to the challenge. Challenge indeed because the full-length play only had two characters! That’s a lot of memorized dialogue! That’s on top of all the studying I needed to do to succeed in my first year at Penn.

The first night of the performance I was sick as a dog with fear. But the show must go on.  The curtain went up, I walked out on stage….and promptly forgot all my lines.  After a thousand thoughts went through my head, I narrowed it down to two: apologize to everyone and tell them to go home or walk behind stage and figure something out.

I found a way in-character to walk off stage to try and collect myself. The producer/director shouted at me backstage, “What are you doing!?”  In desperation I responded, “I forgot all my lines!” In desperation he responded, “Well you better get out there and remember them!” Somehow, I did, and as Shakespeare so eloquently said, “All’s well that ends well.”  The other nights of performance went smoothly. I learned that even under immense stress, I can bring it. That is a valuable, confidence-boosting lesson. I can still reach for the stars with fear of failure, and I can fail, but not fail.  As my dad often quoted poet Robert Browning, “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for.”

The learning curve is not a smooth, upward trajectory; it’s a roller coaster of experiences that shape our character and deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

Instead of viewing mistakes as stumbling blocks, let us see them as steppingstones. Each misstep is an opportunity to recalibrate, learn, and evolve. In the grand tapestry of life, the threads of imperfection weave a story of resilience, adaptability, and the courage to forge ahead.  And mistakes make us better at anything we do.

One summer when I was a teen, my father encouraged me to take sailing lessons. I believed I was a much better sailor in theory and written quizzes than I was in the water. That’s because in the short month that I was taking lessons, my boat never capsized. I became more and more fearful of tipping.  In hindsight, I think if I had just been blown into the water once and learned that I could manage to get the boat back up and me on it, I wouldn’t have been so scared. I needed the wind and the water to conspire for me to make a mistake, but they were too kind. After that summer, I never sailed again. I needed to have a good dunking, and get back in the metaphorical saddle, the way I did on the stage when I forgot my lines, and I would have continued to progress. As the sailing skipper says to avoid the boom, “Ready about….hard-alee!”

Conclusion

As we navigate the complexities of life, let us release the burden of perfection and embrace the beauty of imperfection. It’s not about flawless execution but about the courage to take imperfect action and the resilience to keep moving forward. In the end, it’s the journey that shapes us, refines us, and ultimately defines us. 

In the grand tapestry of existence, imperfections are the colorful threads that weave a story uniquely yours.  Life isn’t about flawless navigation; it’s about the joyous exploration of the unknown.

So, my Royal Friends, let’s link pinkies and raise our metaphorical goblets to the pursuit of progress, not perfection, and savor the richness of a life headed in the right direction. In this refined ballroom of life, where every misstep is a graceful twirl towards refinement, let us revel in the understanding that imperfection is not a flaw but a dance partner in the elegant waltz of self-discovery. Imperfection adds a touch of charm to the grand tapestry of life. Cheers to the symphony of progress, where every note, no matter how peculiar, adds depth to the grand composition of our evolving narrative!

And besides, here’s how I look at it; if I were perfect, everyone would hate me.

x♥x♥x♥,

Diane Uniman, Aka Princess Diane von Brainisfried, attorney turned motivational speaker and writer. Breast cancer survivor.  Author of Bonjour, Breast Cancer-I’m Still Smiling…Wit, Wisdom, and Optimism for Beating the Breast Cancer Blues.

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