If you look for perfection, you will never be satisfied.

Leo Tolstoy’s landmark novel “Anna Karenina” opens with the line, “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” This phrase sets the scene for the sprawling story, which navigates marriage, faith, society, and, of course, familial dynamics. Excerpted here is a quip spoken by Princess Natalya Lvov as she debates parenting styles with her husband, Prince Arseny Lvov. While her husband prefers to be dutiful and involved to a fault in raising his two sons, Natalya believes children should be left somewhat alone to become who they will be. Natalya’s insistence that the search for faultlessness is a breeding ground for discontentment is a mindset we can transfer to all aspects of life, not just child-rearing. Perfection is impossible to achieve, let alone maintain, and the sooner we acknowledge that fact, the happier we allow ourselves to be.