Being a Perfectionist Is a Curse – My New House is Driving Me Crazy

Alright, time for a little show and tell of sorts. My wife and I recently bought a new home, (pictured), which my wife just loves and enjoys immensely. Me on the other hand, not so much, but I'm trying. The biggest obstacle for me is the fact that I am a perfectionist and have been all my life. I have only recently realized what saints my parents were for putting up with it as they did. Being a perfectionist means it is very easy to spot fault with something...and usually in great detail, which in turn causes a bit of stress. After I had children, I learned that keeping things in perfect condition around the house is a total fantasy....more stress.

I thought I was getting much better and really getting a handle on it, simply by realizing that nothing is perfect and learning to deal with that.... until we bought that house.

It's like every imperfection in the house is going to great lengths to make itself known to me so it can receive it's due recognition. There are times I actually don't want to look when I when I get home because these imperfections are everywhere and I see them ALL! It's driving me nuts, not to mention my wife and oldest son.

Little things like, not one single electrical outlet plate is straight throughout the entire house...they are all slightly crooked. The top of our fireplace is lower on the right side than the left side. There is a tiny bubble on the ceiling of one the bedrooms that my wife can barely see....to me, it is like a gigantic boyle on the butt of humanity and seems huge, even though it really isn't.

Every little mark on the wall and don't even get me started on some of the mysterious smudges that have appeared....who or what is doing that? I wish I could just look at one thing in that house and see nothing wrong....no luck so far.

It really is a beautiful house, but sometimes when I'm prowling around at night and I see something that isn't quite right, I feel like I'm lost in a maze inside a perpetual, never ending episode of Honey Boo-Boo! Again, being a perfectionist is a curse!

I know my fellow perfectionists can relate and understand perfectly what's going on. My wife, children, and everyone else just looks at me like I'm a whack-job and there may be some truth to that, but I feel much better after getting that off my chest.

Things will be much better after I bulldoze that house and rebuild it with electrical plates that are perfectly even...oh, to dream. Thanks for being there...here's a fist bump for you.