"Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good."--Voltaire.
Have you been guilty of this? I know I have. If I can't do something perfectly, I tell myself, I won't do it at all. How many moments of pleasure, of satisfaction, of happiness have I cheated myself out of because of this short-sighted attitude? Too many.
I'm not saying that we shouldn't strive for perfection. I believe in reaching for the stars. However, I also realize that I can't achieve perfection in everything I do. In fact, I can't achieve it in most of the things I do. Does that mean I should stop trying?
No.
I've written before about playing the piano for our church's Primary. Every week, I manage to make bloopers. Still, I keep trying. What's more, I genuinely enjoy accompanying the children while they sing sweet songs about the Savior. Should I give up that pleasure because I can't play the piano perfectly? No.
For years, I've worked to improve and grow my writing. I have yet to find the perfect words to craft the perfect book. I don't know of any writers who feel that they have achieved that, no matter what their level of success. But we keep writing because it fills a need inside of us. We don't let the goal of perfection rob us of the joy of the good.
So, for today, I am grateful for the times I let perfection go and concentrate on being good enough.
I think there is such a thing as perfect progression. We can be perfect at our current level of progression, which includes recognizing that we still need to progress.
ReplyDeleteI'm bad at allowing myself not to be perfect.
It's often hard when we feel our efforts are only "good enough". I would like perfection in many more areas of my life but I know I'll never get there. Heck, I'm lucky if I can even say good enough.
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