Abandoning Perfect

What does it mean to be perfect?  The notion of ‘being perfect’ has been weighing on my mind for some time.  Working with talent I often hear people enthusiastically declare “I just want to be perfect at it.”   I think I understand what they are trying to convey; they want to be seen as proficient and thoroughly skilled in a certain area.  They want whatever it is they are working on to be complete – they don’t want it to be lacking anything.  They want their performance to be without blemish.  If I am right and this is what they mean when they say, “I just want to be perfect at it”, then it sounds like a noble crusade.  The pursuit of perfection seems to be about ensuring your performance is free from mistake and error – to be whole.  Who wouldn’t want that?  Apparently I don’t.  The more I ponder the merits of perfection the more I am concerned that it is actually a bad thing to desire.

 As I have wrestled with my inner thoughts something has began to emerge for me.  The reason perfection sits so awkwardly with me is that perfection isn’t about creating the new or unexpected.  It is about conforming to the past.  The pursuit of perfection isn’t helping us create it is actually hindering us and subduing our creativity. The revelation I had is that perfection equals conformity.  The moment that we launch ourselves toward finding perfection we are walking where others have been before.  We are saying that in order to be perfect, our performance or our work needs to be compared to the performance or work of others that have come before us.  Our performance needs to live up to the ideals that have been bestowed upon us and that we have already chosen to accept as true. The only way for any of us to be declared as perfect is to faultlessly follow the rules imposed by others.  And that is the very problem with perfection!

Mistakes aren’t our enemy, in fact there is a type of beauty to imperfection.  We should be valuing differences and uniqueness in our work rather than ignoring them.  It is often the imperfections that people create that elevate them above others.  In Japan there is a philosophy called ‘Wabi-Sabi.’  It celebrates the beauty in what’s natural; flaws and all.  It teaches us that the cracks and the scratches in things should be embraced.  To be successful we must embrace our own imperfections.

Perfection holds us back in so many ways by fostering an environment of control that plays down our individuality and discourages imperfections creeping into our work:

When you’re trying to be perfect, you don’t take risks.  Being perfect keeps you stuck within the status quo.  It encourages you to only take the steps that live up to other people’s ideas on how success should look.  Perfection doesn’t encourage you to take risks as mistakes and mishaps are the antithesis of being perfect.  You become so focused on what ‘doing it right’ looks like that you don’t experiment.  You don’t test the assumptions that have been made.  You don’t create your own path.

When you’re trying to be perfect, you follow the rules.  People who change their industry – and the world – have a vision.  They have dreamt of a future that only they can see.  They are visionary.  Following rules and conforming doesn’t help them realize their dream.  If you only operating within established procedures will never create something new.

When you’re trying to be perfect, you don’t create.  Chasing perfection means doing the same thing the same way again and again.  The path to perfection almost seems robotic.  You are shut off from seeing what other possibilities may exist.  You are blinkered to what could be.

Trying to be perfect stops you taking risks, demands you follow the rules and banishes creativity.  Perfection makes you believe there is only one way – a superior way – to do something.  It forces you to squash your own ideas and thoughts in favor of a path that has already been walked.

You need to abandon perfect!

The people who find unrivaled success do so because they find THEIR own way.  They disregard what they are supposed to do in favor of what they believe is right.   They experiment and test the ideas that have come before them.  They take risks and stretch themselves and make many mistakes in the process.   Successful people aren’t concerned about being seen as perfect; they want to discover a unique way to win.  They don’t conform, they create; and they often achieve the unthinkable.  Being perfect is not the path you should aspire to walk, instead embrace your imperfections.  Do it your way.  Do it the way you think makes the most sense and honor what you believe, not what others say is true.  Perfection leads to sterile – often robotic – performance.  Imperfection allows you the opportunity to create what no-one else can see!

About Paul Kaye:
Born in England, Paul got his first PD role in the early 2000s, making him the youngest programmer in the UK at the time. After nearly a decade programming in the UK Paul moved to Canada in 2012 to work for Newcap.

Paul spends his days looking after stations in the CHR, Hot-AC and Classic Hits formats and also holds the role of National Talent Development Director for the company. A role that see’s him working with morning shows, on air talent, and programmers across the country to improve performance.

Paul lives in Vancouver and can be reached at [email protected]

Comment Form

Your email address will not be published.

Recent comments (0)
Post new comment

Jobs

See all