The Perfectionist Paradox - A Miserable Amount of Good

this video is sponsored by surf shark VPN every morning Emma gets up at exactly 5 a.m. she read once that the more you hit the snooze button on your alarm the more it can negatively affect her sleep and make you groggy err throughout the day so she trained herself to never hit the snooze button again and promptly turns the alarm off upon its first ring she uses an alarm clock instead of her phone keeping her phone in the other room so to prevent her from using it when she first wakes up as well as just before going to bed because she also read that smart phone usage during these times can have a negative impact on mental health and sleep quality upon waking up for no more than a few moments Emma stretches and relieves any tightened joints and muscles from the previous night's sleep which are almost always pretty minimal due to the fact that she has perfected her sleep through a sleep tracking app and airtight sleep schedule and optimal pillow and bedding products after getting out of bed Emma brushes her teeth counting - the American Dental Association recommended 120 seconds inside her head she can almost determine 120 seconds without even needing to count but she does so anyway just to be sure then she changes into her workout clothes and regardless of the weather goes out on her morning run reminding herself when it's pouring that her body never takes any days off so neither should she following the run Emma does a specific researched combination of concentrated muscle exercises dependent on the day of the week after exercising she meditates for 30 minutes regulating and observing her breath and mind exactly how a variety of guided meditations taught her which she has by now combined into one super effective single practice following meditation Emma proceeds to shower using all-natural organic soaps and shampoos that she extensively researched for quality control Emma regularly stays up-to-date on various data and research regarding health habits products and practices adapting her routine to every new insight so long as she has adequately analyzed the information and confirmed that it is in fact accepted by the majority portion of the particular field it's coming from before promptly leaving her home at 7:30 a.m. she eats one of seven different breakfast meals that she has curated from leading dieticians she found online each meal is similar enough to retain equal nutritional balance while different enough to ensure that she does not get sick of any of them after all Emma knows that variety is the spice of life Emma applies the same strategy to lunch dinner and snacks throughout the day the majority of which she meal preps every Sunday every day on her way to work Emma stops at a local homeless shelter to help prepare cook and serve breakfast for the local homeless residents she frequently recommends new recipes and general facility ideas to the head chef as well as the executive director of the shelter they thank her but have never taken any of her recommendations emma has made it clear to them that she is aware of this but that she understands that it is their facility and does not mean to impose herself on their expertise and is still very happy and grateful for the opportunity to volunteer the chef goes to great lengths to avoid Emma when she's there following her work at the shelter Emma continues into downtown she parks her car in a parking structure several blocks away from the office where she works there are parking areas surrounding the office but they are small and don't fit everyone and so even though she's almost always early Emma never takes a spot so that one less other person has to walk while she walks to several blocks from the structure to the office Emma waves and says different iterations of joyful greetings to every person she passes within her sight line enunciated her words with such volume and clarity to ensure that no one misses a single syllable she leaves and follows with a big sincere smile that puts every returned half clenched lips smile to shame when she enters the office Emma continues her joyful greetings believing that a positive attitude and always focusing on the good is the very best way to live regardless of the day time and her mood Emma goes around her section of the office sincerely inciting conversations and comments were ever possible somehow always having a quote of motivation at the ready that seems to fit every scenario some large percentage of her co-workers hastily closed their office doors if they have one as soon as they hear her coming once at her desk after all emails have promptly and sufficiently been dealt with and what proceeds to check her calendar and daily planner she uses four different scheduling apps that she discovered through extensive research regarding resources that help with work habits and daily planning throughout the day she stays unbelievably focused and organized based on a very specific weighting system of prioritization that she learned and developed from one of the many podcasts articles and books she's referred to on the subject her productivity level is unfathomably high and she frequently but appropriately keeps higher management aware of where she's at in her work checking that she is still on track in the right direction providing and fulfilling new ideas as often as she can her bosses often tried to avoid her in the hallways Emma makes a great salary and is in a very high important position at the company however without ever letting anyone take advantage of her she always works in a way that serves to help those around her look better rarely taking any credit she believes that her work is enough of a reward in it of itself in fact she even deferred two of her most recent promotions to other employees who she genuinely believed were more deserving and don't get enough recognition whenever Emma talks with co-workers family acquaintances or strangers she listens with great attentiveness using a variety of refined mirroring and conversational techniques she learned about to ensure that she properly communicates her genuine sincerity and intrigue towards other people if she finds herself in a conversation in which she thinks she can help someone she always suggests and/or refers them to some multifaceted in depth thoughtfully specific combination of personal practices and available resources on the topic that might help and will always clarifies that it's totally up to them and that they should do whatever they think is best for themselves affirming that she does not mean to impose or pressure them this is almost always interpreted as passive aggressiveness or internalized as subversive pressure nearly every week Emma invites her co-workers to outings over the weekend primarily hikes bird watchings volunteer activities museum visits local community events Saturday lunches in downtown neighborhood cleanups and small little parties often movie or game oriented at her house Emma works very hard but knows that life is short and is only as valuable as it is fun which she is sure to always tell her co-workers when they inform her that they are unfortunately busy that weekend out of every weekend emma has asked only seven people have ever accepted five of which never made it past their first time during her free time Emma often goes on retreats volunteer trips into events and seminars that either help communities and causes or help her become a better and overall more informed person Emma knows how to play the clarinet French horn piano and the Appalachian dulcimer is proficient in five languages sustains a small farm on a property operates two additional ethical streams of income is a member of her local government and is a brown belt in jujitsu and was health work ethic social skills kindness success and weekly routines are about as ideal as anyone could possibly imagine she is the culmination and totality of what basically everyone strives to be everything is synced up and perfected in Emma's life except one thing no one likes Emma for all intents and purposes emma is without any friends her bright constant earnest smile seems to aggravate the blood of anyone near it her unwavering kindness projected by her perfected and impenetrable social skills renders a frustration and exhaustion in even the most patient and otherwise kind social people no one ever seems to really trust or open up to Emma and she rarely if ever experiences a real mutual connection or conversation with anyone her daily routines habits skills and demeanor make those around her feel like constant absolute failures some of her co-workers and acquaintances find themselves imagining horrible things happening to Emma which terrifies them and makes them want to avoid her altogether the inescapable dread and disdain felt towards Emma is confusing and illogical it's a disdain that makes everyone feel horrible about themselves for feeling it towards her which makes everyone involuntarily dislike Emma all the more emma has eliminated all character flaws and in doing so perhaps one of the biggest flaws imaginable without even realizing it emma has discovered that even through pure perfection the imperfection of life still cannot be escaped but Emma always reminds herself that adversity is just an opportunity for improvement this video was sponsored by sir shark VPN surf shark is an easy-to-use VPN service that keeps your IP address hidden encrypts your data and scans for email compromises protecting your identity passwords photos and other personal information from online threats one of the many great features that sets surf shark apart from other VPNs is that you can use surf shark on as many devices as you'd like at the same time with just one subscription meaning all your personal devices as well as your friends and families by enabling you to change your device's location surf shark allows you to bypass various country restrictions and censorships 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Channel: Pursuit of Wonder

Views: 239,741

Rating: 4.9140329 out of 5

Keywords: pursuit of wonder, short story, short film, animated, animation, motivation, inspiration, utopia, perfect, perfection, perfectionism, the problem with perfection, the problem with, ted, ted ed, school of life, the perfectionist trap, exurb1a, ending the pursuit of perfection, why, what if, don't let

Id: MhkWDG4Eylk

Length: 10min 54sec (654 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 30 2020