Three Truths about Being Imperfect and Feeling Good

about It
It is often helpful yet incredibly frustrating to be reminded of how imperfect you are. Don’t you
think?

I mean there are tons of things in our life that could be improved. For starters, there are the ten –
fifteen extra pounds to be lost. Then there is a credit card debt to be settled, a few childhood
issues to be resolved, and possibly a broken heart to be mended.

I do not think there is a single person reading this article, who would not want to change
something about them self, their work or their life.

Even now, as I am writing these words there is a voice in the back of my head wondering if I
could write this article better?

The truth is I probably could. I could dedicated a few hours to finding a captivating title. Or I
could deleted and re-written each phrase several time, until it sounds just right. But I am not
going to do this.

Why?

Because this article is not about perfection.

It is about the 3 truths of being imperfect and actually feeling pretty good about it.

Truth #1: Perfection is a myth

We can all sit around and wait for our life to be perfect. Or we can get busy and try to mold our
life to our image of perfection. In either case, we are doomed. Because achieving perfection in
any area of life – while being a worthy and motivating goal – is a myth.

Everything ever accomplished on this Earth was done in imperfect conditions for imperfect
reasons by imperfect people. And the most mind-blowing thing is that the final results still turned
out pretty good!

I know it is almost a cliché to say “Do not wait till the conditions are just right”, but many of us
are still doing this.

We wait until our financial situation improve to travel. We wait until the right moment in our
professional career to start a family and have children. We wait for “the sign” to define whether
we need to look for a different job. And we wait to get all the information we can before
implementing what we have learned.
Learn to accept that what you do is “good enough” and that it is ok to lose your temper, when
you are having a bad day. It is ok to share a joke that does not make your co-workers laugh. And
it is ok to suck occasionally at something you are normally good at.

Truth #2: Do not be afraid to go back to basics

It feels really good to be great at something be it drawing, fixing cars or managing people. Given
the choice, most of us would prefer to draw the same beautiful landscapes or resolve the same
problems, getting compliments each and every time. But somewhere deep inside we all feel the
need to grow professionally, personally and spiritually.

In order to do this we have to step out of our comfort zone and find ourselves in a place we do
not want to be – or put it in other words at the “beginner’s level”.

Even the thought of applying skills that we have not practiced for a long period of time creates
mental resistance. About 6 years ago, when I was doing some graphic design, I loved using
Photoshop. Last week when a friend asked me to design his company’s logo for him I went into
a deep designer’s block (if such term even exists).
A 30-minute fun and creative task turned into a 5 hour highly stressful work project.
The logo turned out ok. I am sure a professional web designer could have done a much better job
than I did, but on the bright side my friend really liked it and I got over my insecurity of using
Photoshop again.

The moral of this story is simple – no matter how great you are at something, the time comes
when you need a new skill in your old bag of tricks. And the only right thing to do in such
situations is to go back to basics, arming yourself with patience and humility.

Truth #3: Excellence is not an outgoing progress

I know that this statement might sound weird to you. Of course, you get better with practice and,
of course, there is no doubt that the more you practice, the higher your chances are of improving
in whatever area you have chosen.

But!

The fact you did something really well today does not mean that you will do it even better
tomorrow .

Quite the opposite actually. If yesterday you shot a perfect three-pointer in basketball, the
chances are that your next game will be far from perfect.

Why?

Because progress is not a steady climb. It is more like a roller coaster. One day you feel brilliant.
The next day you are wondering if you are any good at all.
At times you are amazing at whatever you do. At times you suck. But this is the whole point of
improvement, because you get better not through planning and preparation, but through failures,
setbacks and missteps.

When the fruits of your actions are not excellent, you are still improving. Even when you fail.
Especially when you fail.

What are your thoughts on perfection and perfectionism?

Should we strive to achieve it in everything we do? Or do we have to learn that it is ok to do

something imperfectly and still have fun?