Striving to be perfect?
“What is the distinction between perfection and excellence to you?” my mentor coach asked me yesterday when we were discussing to start a blog. She asked me this when I mentioned to her that I had been thinking about starting one for more than 6 months. I already have some small snippets scattered all over waiting to be perfected so that they could be published.
Yes, it’s been more than six months. Where am I stuck?
I think my blog “should be” grammatically correct; “should be” well punctuated, “should have” systematic and logical flow of thoughts, “should have” a catchy opening, a healthy body, crisp, appropriate, and thought provoking closing, and this big list of “shoulds” continues. I am not talking about any research paper to be published in an international journal or the dissertation for a doctoral degree, but just a blog. A one page babbling which people might not read, or read and forget the next moment, or might grab the thought and use it as a trigger to change their perspective. Does the perfection of language really matter in that case?
I do not remember the exact sentences I said when I answered her question, but it was something like the available perfection is being 100 % correct and excellence being the best with physical, mental, and intellectual resources.
“Do you think perfection is ever attainable?” my mentor coach continued.
Hmm, maybe not, I kept thinking. How many times do I think that the things are perfect? Even if they are fantastic, most of the time I always find some areas where things could have been improved or been handled differently and maybe more creatively. In that case, the feeling of perfection is missing anyways and appears illusive. Excellence, on the other hand, is like a journey that takes oneself to a higher level.
The questions asked by my coach were very successful in triggering the thought process. I even found myself thinking about perfectionism as inhuman. Does the exaggerated desire to be always right subconsciously undermine my natural human tendencies to err? Am I less-forgiving of self and less appreciative of others by expecting perfection? By expecting myself to be perfect, am I striving to reach a non-existent destination? The thought process still continues…
Should I wait for it to complete, so that I can add 10 more thoughts to this blog?
Should I spend some more time reading, rereading and editing this blog, so that it is better than what is it now?
No. This is my first blog. I have ample chances to improve my writing.
With the perfection definition revisited, I know that this is not perfect but I am also sure that the sheer act of writing my first blog is very excellent!
