PERFECTION
I remember in my younger years going on interviews and the interviewers always seem to ask the same questions. That question is, "tell me a positive thing about you." And my answer was always, I'm a perfectionist. Years later when I interviewed prospective employees at the law firm where I was employed, I may have worded the question differently, but the response was universal or at least a version of, "I am a perfectionist." I guess this indicates interviewer and interviewees were trained at the same school of unenlightened principles. Let's fast forward to the present. I was at the gym where you can usually find me on any given day, and I overheard a conversation between two younger women about their work-out. To be clear I was not eavesdropping. In fact, this happened while I was doing my cardio and I had my headphones on and listing to music and meditating with my eyes closed. That is how I always do my cardio. These women were on the cardio machines next to me and I could hear them clearly through my headphones. One women's response to the other one's question of why she works-out so hard was, "I want to build the perfect body." So, I started thinking about the word perfect and perfection.
At this stage in my life, perfection has a different meaning. I believe perfection is a dream killer. An excuse to not pursue your goals or aspirations. If you are a person that strives to be perfect at everything you do, you will always be disappointed. Perfection does not exist. It's a delusion. You will never get perfection. If you really thing about it, what is perfection? And who decides if whatever you did is perfect? We are all conditioned to strive for perfection. Maybe that's why most people rather not go for their dreams or set their goals high enough to make a significant impact on their lives because they feel it will never be perfect. So why try? Another component of perfection is, when is the perfect time to start something.
We have all heard at one time or another, I'll start when, the weather clears up, I'll start when I have enough money, I'll start when the kids are out of school and, my all-time favorite, I'll start when the time is right. These are just excuses not to start. In reality, it will never be perfect or the right time. The right time or perfect time is now. When the idea strikes. You see, we use the word perfection or perfectionism to not get started because of our fear of failure. Dan Miller, stated, "Perfectionism is not as much the desire for excellence, as it is the fear of failure couched in procrastination." To me, it is a mental block to prevent you from succeeding. It is all connected to the fear of failing. Perfectionism does not exist. You will not see it with your spouse, your children your employer, your friends and associates etc. You will not see it in nature, so what does that tell you? I leave you with a quote on point. "One of the basic rules of the universe is that nothing is perfect, perfection simply doesn't exist... without imperfection neither you nor I would exist." Stephen Hawking.
Just a thought.
At this stage in my life, perfection has a different meaning. I believe perfection is a dream killer. An excuse to not pursue your goals or aspirations. If you are a person that strives to be perfect at everything you do, you will always be disappointed. Perfection does not exist. It's a delusion. You will never get perfection. If you really thing about it, what is perfection? And who decides if whatever you did is perfect? We are all conditioned to strive for perfection. Maybe that's why most people rather not go for their dreams or set their goals high enough to make a significant impact on their lives because they feel it will never be perfect. So why try? Another component of perfection is, when is the perfect time to start something.
We have all heard at one time or another, I'll start when, the weather clears up, I'll start when I have enough money, I'll start when the kids are out of school and, my all-time favorite, I'll start when the time is right. These are just excuses not to start. In reality, it will never be perfect or the right time. The right time or perfect time is now. When the idea strikes. You see, we use the word perfection or perfectionism to not get started because of our fear of failure. Dan Miller, stated, "Perfectionism is not as much the desire for excellence, as it is the fear of failure couched in procrastination." To me, it is a mental block to prevent you from succeeding. It is all connected to the fear of failing. Perfectionism does not exist. You will not see it with your spouse, your children your employer, your friends and associates etc. You will not see it in nature, so what does that tell you? I leave you with a quote on point. "One of the basic rules of the universe is that nothing is perfect, perfection simply doesn't exist... without imperfection neither you nor I would exist." Stephen Hawking.
Just a thought.