Accept Imperfection

The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the total entropy in the universe can never decrease. In other words, the universe tends towards ever greater disorder. This is a physical law that has a proven mathematically basis: there are far many more disordered than ordered states, so on average, a change to a system has a higher probability of resulting in a more disordered state.

Often I can see that in my daily life. Housework never seems to end. Cooking creates a pile of dishes. By the time one dusts, vacuums, and attacks a pile of laundry, there's a new pile of dishes. You cannot get the whole house looking perfect at the same time, and it takes a lot of work to keep it organized.

The key to dealing with this is to understand that the chances of everything being perfectly like I want it is practically ZERO.  There are many directions in which things can go wrong from that perfect state. At any given time, then, something (or more than one thing) will likely be wrong. It is mathematically guaranteed. Therefore, it makes sense to accept that fact and stop expecting perfection. If we wait until all conditions are perfect to do something, it will never get done.

Similarly, if we can't be happy until everything is perfect, we'll never be happy. If we don't rest until everything is perfect, we'll never rest. This simple bit of common sense is lost on a lot of people.

More importantly, we need to accept imperfections in ourselves, as well as in other people.  In fact, we can do better to recognize and accept those imperfections, rather than live in denial and have our plans constantly foiled by them. If we expect perfection, we are sure to end up feeling disappointed, upset, and worried.