Every person hopes to lead a perfect life, or at least one that is viewed as ideal. However, the idea of a perfect life is neither definite nor practical. As people have different personal ideals and lifelong objectives, there can be a variety of different perceptions that are tailored to each individual. It is also easy to misunderstand the true definition of perfection in life even though it seems a fairly easy concept to comprehend.
Most people can likely agree that the core of a life of perfection is happiness, and thus the many factors that lead to happiness are what make up an ideal life. However, happiness is often confused with pleasure due to their many superficial similarities. One main difference is that unlike true happiness, which can lead to a life that is ideal in the eyes of the individual, a life of pleasure usually only leads to a seemingly perfect life that is not always good. This is because pleasure can become tiresome and problematic for an individual, and the flaws of the lifestyle are often merely concealed by an illusion of happiness and perfection (this is displayed by the painting The Merry Family by Jan Steen). The concept of happiness can also be perceived differently by different individuals; an ideal life to one person may not seem so to another, and thus the lifestyle cannot be considered entirely “perfect.”
The belief that one is leading a perfect life which does not have need for improvement almost always results from arrogance, confusion, or a misinterpretation of the idea. Living a life of absolute perfection is never or hardly ever achieved due to the volatility of the real world. From a pragmatic point of view, there is ultimately no such thing as a perfect life, and the concept of it only exists in the individual perspective and imagination. Nevertheless, by maintaining one’s perception and working towards true happiness, one can live as ideally as the circumstances allow.
Quaranteen 
Hey! I found this post really intriguing. I find myself thinking a lot about my future. What I want to do and what I want to commit my life to. A lot of people find happiness through the thought of having a family, or money, or being able to travel the world. But you made a comment about how reaching pleasure and happiness, can be extremely overwhelming and exhausting. And I think this is true for a lot of people even at this time, often times we make a list of things we want to do for a day to feel accomplished, and when it doesn’t get done, we may often feel defeated. It’s really interesting to perceive others as living the perfect life, and we never figure out if their life is really like that or they can put on this act. Although, I have come to the conclusion that maybe we see them as perfect because they are happy to an extent we may not understand. And as you mentioned, the goal should be happiness, but to each person, happiness presents a different idea. So maybe as we see them as perfect, it is simply the happiness we wish to achieve. What is something you wish to achieve, that may be simply be masked by the pure emotion of happiness?
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