Striving for Perfection
If you ask my wife, I’m never satisfied with anything I create. Whether its a woodworking project, photography, or even dinner there is always room for improvement. When others see a well executed piece of work, I see the places where I want and need to improve. We’ve had plenty of “discussions” about being too hard on yourself (her argument topic of discussion) or always striving to do better (mine…and the correct one in my opinion…).
I’ve heard people say you must aim for perfection but settle for less. I liked this when I first heard it and thought “Hey! I can do that!” Not so fast. What sounds good in theory is usually difficult to practice and this is no exception. How much less do you settle on? When is good enough really good enough.
Without continually pushing yourself towards perfection, you grow in your skills. We’ve all heard that practice makes perfect. Settling for good enough feels more like slow stagnation to me. When the real answer is distilled, I’m sure it falls somewhere in the middle of the extreems. Depending on your personallity it may land closer to one side or the other. For me, its way up against the ‘wanting to do better’ side.
Where do you mark your line? Are you being too hard on yourself or striving for perfection?
