I was often made fun of for being a so-called “perfectionist.” Now that I am older and have achieved a significant level of understanding, I now realize that there are few notions more preposterous than making fun of someone for striving for perfection. In fact, striving for perfection is the only way to truly become human.

What people refer to as perfectionism is merely the philosophy of trying to be correct in thought and action. More simply put, perfectionism is trying to be right.

How can there possibly be anything wrong with that?

But is it really necessary to try to always be as right as possible?

Only if you want to be a human being, actually.

And on March 2nd, 2012, that's precisely what I realized I had been doing in pursuing a philosophy of trying to be right in everything I did and was: that I had achieved human potential. I wasn't really trying to be perfect in other words, I was trying to be human.

Perfectionism as a way of thinking caused me to align myself with what is called Universal perspective. By definition, the Universal perspective is the correct perspective. You could say that the Universal perspective is always the right perspective. So trying to always be right is to always be trying to align yourself with what is universally correct, the Universal perspective.

The Universal perspective is the perspective that would be shared by all humans, one that would be correct for all, regardless of their own perspective. Everything in life has perspectives, and in society and among us humans, there is a perspective shared by all, and typically an individual perspective, which often seems opposite. Moral issues are an example.

The individual perspective is by definition a selfish one, and often is in modern society. So it makes sense that trying to be correct from the Universal perspective involves self-sacrifice. But the self-sacrifice is actually good for the individual in the end because it improves everyone which benefits the individual by improving everything, even if only very slightly, almost immeasurably even; while a selfish act while benefiting the individual, does so at a cost to everyone. And while it may be immeasurable on an individual basis, if everyone else does it, it becomes quite measurably detrimental to all and thus the individual.

Clearly, a Universal perspective is better for all. And a Universal perspective has advantages, such as always being right. But, as it often runs counter to other perspectives, strictly maintaining the Universal perspective presents challenges, and therefore can be a disadvantage. Challenges, on the other hand, are what drove human evolution in the first place. We wouldn't have such complex minds as we do had we not needed them at some point in history. So trying to maintain the Universal perspective in spite of the challenges it presents can lead to development sufficient to overcome the disadvantages.

While I have suffered brain damage and thus now have significant disadvantages as a result, I do potentially have significant advantage over other people in many ways because of my having maintained a Universal perspective in spite of the problems it created for me and overcoming and more importantly learning from those challenges. Had I not suffered injury which inhibits my ability to take full advantage of my experiences and understanding, I would have significant advantage over other people.

Perfectionism then, would make for a much better society, if only everyone in society pursued it as a philosophy. Unfortunately, it seems impossible, unless some revolution in thinking were to sweep through society somehow and cause people to suddenly all at once pursue perfectionism and trying to share the Universal perspective. And even from my own perspective the circumstances are unfortunate: I can neither utilize my advantages, nor even give it all up and try to be like everyone else – thanks to the injuries I suffered, and which are so severe and present so much of a challenge, that I had to seek protection from society itself and ultimately had to leave it altogether.

I do find it ironic that someone who achieved his potential as a human being is now unfit for society. But I do sometimes enjoy knowing that I am treated the way I am precisely because I am human as it gives me a sense of accomplishment in a way.