It sounds great and it looks great.

聽起來很棒，看起來也很好。

And now, more than ever, we're flooded with it in our Instagram feeds, in ads, and even while watching TED Talks.

比起任何時代，現代「完美」隨處可見，充斥著 IG 貼文、廣告，甚至是 TED 演講。

But what we see is often just an illusion.

但我們看到的往往只是假象。

Instagram shows only the moments, angles, and outfits that their creators choose to showcase.

IG 上只會出現創作者們精心挑選的時刻、角度和服裝。

Ads are created by teams of experts that are paid to get us to want what they're offering.

廣告則是由專業團隊製作，人們給付報酬，好讓商品成為大眾喜愛的形象。

And even the sacred TED Talk is given by the most gifted communicators who have often put years and years of research into the work they are presenting.

即使是神聖的 TED 演講，也是由最有天賦的講者發表，而他們往往已投注多年時間研究該領域。

And if you were to ask those Instagramers, advertisers, and TED Talkers if they feel like their latest post, billboard, or presentation was perfect, they most likely would say no.

如果你問那些 IG 創作者、廣告商和 TED 講者「覺得自己最新的發文、廣告或演講完美嗎？」他們極有可能回答「不。」

Even when Isaac Newton saw the first edition of his book "Opticks", a book often to be considered one of the greatest works in modern science,

甚至當年，牛頓看到他《光學原理》這本被認為是現代科學偉大著作之一的書第一版時，

he had his name removed from the title page due to the imperfections he believed to be in it.

還將自己的名字從扉頁上刪除，因為他認為其內容不夠完善。

He didn't want to be part of something that wasn't perfect.

他不想成為不完美事物的一部分。

Perfectionism is when a person refuses to accept any standard short of perfection.

完美主義是指一個人拒絕接受任何低於完美的標準。

So, as a perfectionist, if you're a runner and you qualify for the Olympics and make second place, you don't think of yourself as the second-best runner in the world, you think of yourself as a failure.

所以，作為完美主義者，如果你是個跑者，符合參加奧運會資格，並取得了第二名，你不會認為自己是全世界第二快的人，你只會認定自己是個失敗者。

Voltaire said that "perfect is the enemy of the good".

伏爾泰說：「完美是美好的敵人。」

Meaning that if you strive for perfection, you are destined to fail, because perfection simply doesn't exist.

意思是，如果竭力追求完美，就註定失敗，因為完美根本不存在。

Even when you write a sentence you find perfect today, you might hate it tomorrow.

即使你今天寫了一個自認完美的句子，明天你也可能會討厭它。

Perfection leads to an endless and impossible cycle of reworking sentences, photographs, ideas, or whatever it is you want to be perfect.

完美導致你進入無休止、無法達成的循環，不斷修改句子、照片、想法，任何你想達到完美的東西。

Individually, this often causes anxiety and a non-acceptance of yourself and your imperfections.

這往往導致個人焦慮、不接受自己及自己的不完美。

And it has even been linked to suicide.

這甚至可能導致自殺。

In a 2013 study of 33 young men who committed suicide, more than 70 percent of them had parents that said they placed exceedingly high expectations on themselves.

2013 年，一項針對 33 名曾試圖自殺年輕人的研究中，超過 70% 研究對象的父母表示，他們對自己有「極高 」期望。

It also causes insecurity.

這也造成了不安全感。

One young woman said that growing up and seeing women on Instagram with perfect hair, bodies, and outfits instilled this need in her to look just like them.

一位年輕女性表示，長大過程中，接收 IG 上擁有完美頭髮、身材和服裝的女性形象，讓她認為自己需要看起來和她們一樣。

She says that it made it incredibly hard for her to accept herself as is.

她說這讓她難以接受自己。

But what she and many of us often don't realize is that what we see is mostly an illusion.

但她和許多人常常沒意識到，我們看到的大多是假象。

Professional Instagramers spend hours upon hours setting up their photoshoots, going to the gym and the tan salon, all so they can present their most perfect self to the world.

專業 IG 創作者會花上數小時設置拍攝、去健身房和美黑沙龍，為了向大眾展示最完美的自己。

But we don't see this.

但我們看不到這一面。

Instead, we only look at their perfection and say to ourselves, "Why don't I look like that?"

相反，我們只看到他們的「完美」並對自己說：「為什麼我不像他們一樣？」

But it gets worse.

而事情每況愈下。

Politically, a culture of perfection causes stagnation.

政治上，完美會導致停滯不前。

Perfectionists have a hard time letting go of their ideas because, in order to believe an idea in the first place, a perfectionist must think it is perfect.

完美主義者很難做出妥協，因為要相信一個想法，完美主義者首先必須認為它是完美的。

So, when you have a perfectionist politician or activist who believes climate change doesn't exist, they devote themselves to ending policies that are trying to protect us.

是以，當一個完美主義政治家或活動家，相信氣候變化並不存在，他們將全心致力於結束保護環境的政策。

And when you have two opposing groups of perfectionists in power, progress comes to a screeching halt.

而當兩個對立的完美主義者群體掌權時，體制就會停滯不前。

The good news is that many psychologists believe that perfectionism isn't all bad.

好消息是，許多心理學家認為，完美主義並不全是壞事。

Perfectionists are driven, motivated, and meticulous.

完美主義者有動力、積極，且一絲不苟。

But when they fail, they see themselves as failures.

但當他們失敗時，他們將自己視為失敗者。

But if a perfectionist simply becomes an "excellentist", many of her or his self-hurting behaviors will go away.

但如果一個完美主義者成為「優秀主義者」，她或他的許多自我傷害的行為將會消失。

For example, when an excellentist fails, it becomes an opportunity for learning and reflection, and perhaps saying,

例如，當一個「優秀主義者」失敗時，這會成為學習和反思的機會，也許他會說：

"Eh, I did my best, and that's good enough for me.”

「我已經盡力了，這已經夠好了。」

Thank you for watching, and don't forget to like, subscribe, and share this video.

謝謝您的收看，別忘了按讚、訂閱及分享這支影片。

It helps a lot!

這對我們幫助很大！