In Pursuit of Perfection – Choose Excellence over Perfection

It is better to choose excellence over perfection for a happy and accomplished life.  I have heard many people saying they “want it to be perfect” which means whatever they do they want it to be perfect. In my opinion, there is nothing like perfection; it’s just an illusion.

Even if there are people who are perfect, their lives are miserable because they are never contented with their performances and they never get the feeling of accomplishment. Whatever they achieve, it seems negligible to them.

For instance, take the case of a brilliant student who achieved 99 percentile but is still not happy. Why? She is not satisfied by her performance in the exams because she got 2 questions wrong! She is restless because of her failure for those 2 questions.

Can you see what she is missing? She is missing the fact that she got the rest of the questions right. She has also overlooked the fact that she has achieved something which most students have not and she has done an excellent job!

To live a happy and contented life, it is important to choose excellence over perfection. Sometimes people behave fanatically in pursuit of perfection. They are better off channeling their positive energies to achieve excellence.

In the pursuit of perfection

I think perfection is “energy draining” and wastes time. A perfectionist, is always trying to achieve something that is unachievable and does not find satisfaction in their accomplishments, no matter how good they are. A perfectionist is always in a fear of making a mistake.

To avoid that fear, they try to avoid new work, new environments and any new changes.

They are always stressed and in a constant state of worry because all their energies are focused on not failing. They have unrealistic expectations from themselves and from others and try to micromanage things which cause stress and worrying.

In addition, they need to analyze the cost-versus-benefit factor for being perfect. As a perfectionist, they tend to procrastinate on tasks or projects for fear of making a mistake.

Change your perspective

Life is a blessing, but it is your responsibility to make it as beautiful as you can within your limited parameters.

Again, you are an intelligent and creative human being and you can do something amazing and excellent; so what if you make mistakes in the course of performing some tasks. Take those mistakes of yours as your learning path.

Do not spend your energies on dwelling on the negative aspects. Errors are part of our growing and learning. They let you explore new areas in your life. Unless those great scientists and mathematicians made big mistakes, they would not have discovered anything new!

Only robots are perfect in their programming, not humans. Humans are perfect in their imperfection and creativity.

Try to achieve excellence

If you want success in any sphere, you should shift your focus from perfection to excellence. It not only gives great results but also room for achieving better. When you strive for excellence, you have no fear of mistakes in your mind as it is realistic.

When you strive for excellence, your focus is on what is working, not on what is not working. You always use all of your strength with a positive attitude. In fact, living life with excellence is exciting and happier as you can always achieve new standards of excellence.