“If you aspire to the highest place, it is no disgrace to stop at the second or even the third.”  ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero

Most activities in life do not require absolute precision. While we expect that quality from a cardiac or brain surgeon, the majority of us aren’t held to such a standard, nor should we be and here’s why. 

Chewing up large blocks of time to attempt perfection may come at a cost in terms of expanding our boundaries, trying new things and general quality of life. How many times have you heard young and old hesitate or turn down opportunities in careers, sports, clubs and organizations because they don’t want to make mistakes?

Time spent investing in pursuit of perfection always comes at a cost. I have a friend, who by profession is a music educator, and terrific at his craft. I attended a high school concert he was directing and was truly amazed at the high quality of music that was being produced by these young people. 

After the concert, we sat around with colleagues and had coffee. The entire conversation revolved around the mistakes of the concert (“You were flat there,” etc.).  Later, when we were alone, I commented on the seemingly negative tone of the conversation. His comment was, “People don’t remember the 99 notes you hit perfectly – they remember the one clinker.” 

Here’s my point – to arrive at perfection will require enormous commitments in time, labor, and emotion. My friend had to work individuals hard with numerous personal sacrifices to deliver that kind of result. When perfection is the standard, other areas of your life may suffer or not even be attempted. Be willing to say “good enough” when appropriate, and then move on to other areas of life. A standard of perfection may ultimately undermine and weaken your ability to live a balanced life. You should definitely set high standards, but avoid the search for perfection in all things. 

“Caesar’s big trouble was that he didn’t know when to stop. Alexander suffered the same.”  ~ Harry Truman