I would ban the word ‘perfect’ if I could

Daily writing prompt

If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?

If I could ban any word in common use it would be the word ‘perfect‘.

Why? Because perfect doesn’t exist.

Perfect implies something is without fault, and nothing fits that description. We live in a world with frayed edges, mistakes, scratches, conflict and confusion. But there’s also so much beauty to be found in these less desirable and messy parts of our world.

I think the bigger part of this for me is that if something is perfect, then we have no goal, no hope, no ambition. Nothing to aim toward. When there are gaps in design, opportunities for improvement or just more room to grow we move into that space and get skilled up! We learn, we become curious, we ask questions, we re-angle ourselves to find a solution. We expand, we become.

I also wouldn’t want to use the antonyms to perfect: imperfect, flawed, broken, defective. The opposite isn’t any better. Instead, I’d use the word ‘interesting‘ or ‘amazing‘ or ‘fascinating‘ because there’s an “and” that follows these terms. Why is it so? What about this design or this artwork is interesting? What other ways could it be done? Where else can we move to, or what’s an alternative to try? These terms generate curiosity and hope. The joy is in the process, not the final and “perfect” outcome.

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