Trend Korea 2024 has announced 10 keywords or concepts, predicting 2024’s trends. One of them is a “hexagonal human.” It means a human who is perfect in six aspects: appearance, personality, education, wealth, job/career, and background. Nowadays, people aspire to be a hexagonal human themselves, but they also like or value someone if that person is a hexagonal human by their standards. Some people get envious when celebrities, for example, are “effortlessly perfect.” People find it attractive and worth liking when something or someone is perfect. It seems an aspiration to be a hexagonal human could be translated into a longing for perfection and those six aspects are the standards that stand out when it comes to measuring perfection. Longing for perfection leads to living a productive and aesthetic life that we can see through so-called “God-saeng” challenges on the Internet. Although this urge to be perfect could make our lives more productive and seemingly beautiful, it finally will ruin our lives.
The concept of being perfect differs from each other. Especially, when it comes to appearance, every person has their ideal type of beauty. It is applied to other aspects of the hexagon as well. Suppose that you earn $4,500 a month. Would you be satisfied? If you were a student, you would be satisfied, and you might think your salary is “perfect.” Whereas, if you were a parent and responsible for a household of six kids, you would think you salary is not perfect for raising six children. Not oly one perfection can be applied to all the lives all around the world. It is easy for us to understand and agree that no perfection covers everything. Being perfect is shaped differently depending on who you are. However, many times you say “perfect,” that is only perfect for you. No one would completely be on the same page as you because another perfection is in their mind.
I discussed how ridiculous it is to behave as if there is a perfect figure and aspire to be that one. However, some people might get curious about why trying to be a better person leads to ruining our lives. They also might say that they do not want to achieve the best version of themselves but the better version of themselves. Regarding this discussion, I would like to emphasize the mindset we usually have when we pursue the perfection of each one of us. It is also associated with the strongest motivation that boosts us to live perfect lives: comparison. Comparison with others is essential when we are trying to be perfect. It influences every step of the process of being perfect. We usually set our goals to be better than before and every step of setting goals accompanies comparison. This is where comparison interrupts. Even if you think you are better than others or not, you compare yourself to someone.
Additionally, the most horrifying part of comparison is that there must be someone more “perfect” than you. Except for some aspects that are too personal such as appearance or personality, someone must be wealthier and smarter than you. We tend to feel small when we know that someone is living a “better” life than us. Now, I think I can tell that you might understand what I want to deliver. It is not demanding work you need to get done to be a better.
I used to be trying my best to be a perfect girl. Ironically, what I realized during the process of being perfect is that I can never be perfect as much as I aspire to be. As soon as I accomplished one step, what I saw was another person who had done more tasks with better quality than me. I felt frustrated. It is like pouring water into a jar with a hole. So, I quit being obsessed with perfection. I erased the concept of perfection from my brain. Instead, I have been seeking a way to love my genuine self. I no longer chase after the illusion. I focus on how I can accept myself as I am. Now, I can see how beautiful my life is. Only because it is imperfect!