Often we get stuck in perfectionistic tendencies. We shoot for the ideal and accept nothing short of that standard. While the ideal can be a great thing to pursue, most measurements of success aren’t so all-or-nothing.
The ideal is usually attained via some PROCESS—we never get there all at once. There are progressive, successive, growth steps.
If I’m just learning archery and I’m aiming at the bull’s eye (my ideal), I may miss it but still “succeed”. Just hitting ANYWHERE on the target would be a huge success at that point in my development.
Here’s a MAJOR problem: many people never pick up their bow because they’re afraid they won’t hit the bull’s eye.
Guess what?? You WON’T hit the bull’s eye—not at first. Why would you? You’re LEARNING. And if you did, it would be more luck than skill.
The new salesman never makes that call because he might get rejected. So he ends up getting nothing.
The amateur guitarist doesn’t sing at the open mic because she’s not perfect yet—she hasn’t reached “Guitar Hero” status yet. So she misses out—no experience of stretching herself, going beyond her limits, spreading her wings, and learning something valuable along the way by getting on stage.
The reality is that the salesman WILL get rejected. The amateur guitarist WILL hit some clunker notes and sing off-key. So what?? It’s called learning!
Mastery is a worthy pursuit, indeed. But we’ll NEVER get to mastery in our area of pursuit if we too rigidly define success and failure, and have a “bull’s eye only” mentality.
Yes, keep your eye on the ideal, whatever that may be. Make that ideal your North Star. And then begin moving towards it, wherever you are. BUT . . . allow for learning and growth to take place over a period of time!
It’s a PROCESS—something I say a lot.
Just stay on the path. Forget “perfect”. Keep moving and keep learning. And one year from today, take a look at how far you will have traveled towards mastery.
And be pleased with your progress, even if it ain’t yet perfect!