Skip to main content

Letting Go of Perfect

Wisdom, not perfection

My former acting coach, Brian McCulley once said that "done is better than perfect." I don't think he meant to minimize quality, because that is also important. But sometimes urgency is more important than perfection, considering that we'll never achieve perfect.

There are no perfect people. There are no perfect products. There are no perfect processes. We may travel John Wesley's road to perfection without ever getting there. That is completely fine.

I've learned to seek wisdom rather than perfection since discovering the endless amount of personal flaws has destroyed any illusion of perfect. Still, I travel that road, whether it's driving or as a passenger. It's a good road, even when it never ends.

I've also learned not to let it grieve me.  We are all here to improve. Let's keep improving.

When we look into the mirror, let's not expect perfection. Let's not let disappointment cloud our days. Expecting perfection is not a flattering look.

A better look is available: a look of striving without obsessing. Let's go for that. Let's keep improving.

-- doug smith
key words:

Comments

  1. David SpiegelMarch 30, 2020 at 1:24 PM

    Perfection is overrated....trust me! The true goal........100% effort!

    ReplyDelete
  2. David SpiegelMarch 30, 2020 at 1:29 PM

    " A man's reach must extend beyond his grasp"- Robert Browning

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Creating Alignment

What is the connection between your actions and goals? How do your goals connect to your overall mission and purpose? Do you have a sense that what you do matters and gets you closer to accomplishing what is most important to you? High performance leaders align their actions to their goals and their goals to their mission. It's how they get things done that matter. It's the filter of success. Does that task that someone is asking you to do contribute to your purpose? Then do it. If it doesn't, negotiate another path, another step, perhaps another set of hands to get it done. Our time is too valuable to spend it on anything that does not contribute to our happiness, and our happiness is largely dependent on doing what matters most to us and that contributes to the well-being of others. We can run, we can hide, but without that alignment of action, goals, and mission how will we ever reach our potential? Alignment creates that guidance that w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Success Starts With Action

What will you DO about it? Have you ever asked anyone that question? Have you ever asked yourself? People may complain. People may document faults and shortcomings. People may expect more than they are getting -- but nothing happens without taking action. Success starts with action. All success depends on action. What can you do right now toward achieving your goals? Sometimes we have finely crafted plans for achieving our goals, and yet miss acting on those plans. And, sometimes we miss the plans altogether and simply hope for the best with our goals. Plans, and hope are important but what matters most is action. What you DO to achieve your goals. Actions matter because they place us in motion. Then thrust us toward our vision. Even when we make mistakes and miss our targets, the energy created by action propels us forward. We can correct mistakes. We can change direction. We can accomplish great things. But first we must place our selves in motion through action. Wha...
Post a Comment
Read more

Solving Problems with the Highest Payoff

With so many problems to choose from, which do you pick to solve first? Some people like to build momentum by moving from smallest problem to biggest problem. If this works for you and you're happy with the results, keep doing it. Other people find that once they start with small problems or easy to do tasks that they get stuck there. It becomes too hard to move forward. If this is you, you're probably ready for something different. How about going right for the biggest payoff? When I worked at GE we used a tool called the Payoff / Effort matrix. With so much to work on, we used this tool to determine where to start. Should we put extra effort into something that would provide little payoff? Clearly, not when the same effort could produce more payoff in another area. Solve the problems that provide the biggest payoff first. Not only will you get your biggest problem solved, but you will likely find that you now have more resources and energy to solve other problem...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Useful Question

  A useful question: what would be an even more creative way to make this better? -- doug smith
Post a Comment
Read more

Solving Problems Requires The Courage to Tell The Truth

Can a problem be so tough that we deceive ourselves about solving it? In any problem there is a temptation to soften the edges, smooth the rough spots, to paint a better picture than we see. Sometimes we take sides and spin the truth in favor of our side, even when that contributes to a conflict or problem. We can do better than that. Solving problems together requires the courage to tell the truth as you see it. Not our version of the truth. Not our ideal of the truth. The truth as it exists, weak spots and all. If we want to clearly analyze a problem, we must be willing to see, and tell the truth. -- Douglas Brent Smith
Post a Comment
Read more

Shine That Light

Are you looking to reveal your problems or seeking to hide them? Hidden problems don't go away -- they just get harder to solve. If you can shine a light on your own problems you have a fast start in solving them. And, you DO want to solve them, right? -- Douglas Brent Smith
Post a Comment
Read more

Don't Let a Lie Stand

Can you tell when someone is lying to you? Do you call them on it? Do you stay curious enough to explore what's behind what feels like a lie? How about when you catch yourself stretching the truth or simply leaving out an important detail? You're better than that, right? High performance leaders are better than that. You can handle the truth, AND you can deliver the truth. Consistently, insistently, tell the truth. The adjustment from a lie to the truth may be troubling at first but it's eventually liberating. The truth rules. -- doug smith
Post a Comment
Read more

Lead On Level Ground

How does it feel to be stuck in the middle? Maybe you know what I'm talking about -- stuck in the middle of your organization with tough customers above you, tough team members below you, and fascinatingly frustrating peers beside you. The life of a supervisor is one surrounded on every level by challenges. It may be the toughest spot in the organization. Supervisor may be the toughest job because you can always be over ruled from above, undermined from below, and ignored from your peers. What's the solution? Lead on level ground. Find ways to leave everyone's title at the door. Think of people as peers -- no matter where they sit in the organization. Your boss is a person with needs and dreams. Your direct-reports imagine themselves as critically important (and they are). Your peers want and need your help in more ways than they can express. It's all much more easy once you believe -- and behave -- as if titles are must less important than goals. People a...
Post a Comment
Read more