Perfection: The Enemy of Excellence

I believe that perfection is a state of pursuit in excellence, rather than a final destination.

No human other than Jesus himself is perfect.

With that said, as a self-proclaimed perfectionist, I strive for excellence in everything I do because, in moderation, I believe that the pursuit for perfection has a positive impact. For example:

In art, the pursuit of perfection creates high caliber paintings and focused detail as to how the work is presented.

In business, it leads to professional customer service and a product that exceeds customer expectations.

In relationship with God (faith), the pursuit of perfection (otherwise known as living in the image of God) can build a person into a kind, wise, and all together good human being.

However, the pursuit of perfection can also be the enemy of excellence.

It can cause a person to become paralyzed in fear – waiting until their idea or they themselves are perfect before acting or making a move. It’s imperative to someone’s success to be willing to try new things and fail at them (sometimes more than once). For example:

In art- You’re going to create a lot of things that don’t work and that aren’t aesthetically pleasing. You may receive negative critiques on your work.

In business- You’re going to have months (and even years) as an entrepreneur where money is tight and work flow is slow. You may even receive a couple of negative reviews.

In relationship with God (faith)- you’re going to strive to abide by God’s word and be the best neighbor, friend, wife, boss, employee, husband, mother, daughter, son , father ect. and life can still throw a tragic curveball at you.

Don’t let the fear of not reaching perfection paralyze you into doing nothing at all!

You’re going to fail in life in your pursuit of perfection.

However, the lessons you extract from those disappointments will determine your overall excellence. Over the course of history there are millions of projects and relationships that were never pursued because of a person’s fear of failure. Think of your number one role model or idol at this point in your life – at one point in their story,  they too had to make the decision to pursue perfection, despite the fear of probable failure, in order to gain excellence at something they were trying for the first time.

If we were all perfect, we would have no need for Jesus.

Trust in His ability to help you through tough times or new experiences. His words and promises can help make the pursuit of perfection a lot less daunting. In your failures and in your successes you are not alone.

Ultimately, you can’t be the best at something unless you’re willing to be the worst at it first.

In those moments of failure in your pursuit of perfection, just remember that God uses those who are not perfect to do excellent things. So what relationship, idea, or project have you put off for fear of failing? Get it out into the world despite your want for it to be perfect. What you create will never be perfect, but it will evolve over time and has the potential to be excellent!!

Inspiration:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”  -Philippians 4:8-9 (The chapter itself is called “Think of Excellence”)

Hand|Art. Head|Business. Heart|Belief.