Progress, not Perfection

 

People, myself included,  set themselves fairly ambitious goals like 

• I wan't to be the"Perfect" Project Manager.
• I wish to have the "Perfect" Physique
• I wan't to have the "Perfect" Marriage
• I wan't to have the "Perfect" Career

The Urban dictionary defines "Perfection" as an impossibility, something unattainable, something that cannot be reached. If ever something were "perfect", then that would mean that they were different from everyone else, thus making them "imperfect". 

One viewpoint says that Perfection cannot be defined by one person, perfection means something different to everyone. One person thinks perfection is when someone has no flaws. The Other person thinks,  perfection is when you love someone regardless of their flaws.

An examiner says you have to get 100 answers to 100 questions right to get a perfect score in a subject . If you achieve that Perfect score , It doesn't automatically equate to you knowing everything on that subject. It just means that the examiner has set a benchmark around what parts of the subject you must know and according to that benchmark , you think you have achieved perfection. So, this is another example of Perfection being defined by two people.

Coming back to my initial four examples , I think that when we say we wan't to achieve perfection in something , What we might be actually saying is :- 

• "Perfect" Project Manager.  ( I wan't to run successful Projects, using my Project Management experience , tools and methodologies and complete them to the customer's satisfaction within time and within Budget)
•  "Perfect" Physique (  I wan't a six pack with bulging biceps and chiseled jaws like that star , with 12% or less body fat and the rest being muscles or If I were a woman, I would want the body of that ramp model )
•  "Perfect" Marriage (arguments resolved amicably, physical and romantic needs satisfactorily met, adorable kids, peaceful family life)
•  "Perfect" Career (Successful, having quarter of a million dollars and occupying "x" position on the corporate ladder with work-life balance thrown in) 

The above examples can have as many combinations and definitions of perfection as there are human beings on this planet. 

Perhaps Perfection for us is what we have seen other people do successfully.  But our paths to success are going to be entirely different to theirs and so will the end results be. Hence, we really cannot follow their formula and achieve success in the same way as them.

Even if you don't follow others and set your own benchmarks for success or "Perfection", at what point will you know if you have achieved :-

• That perfect physique?
• That perfect marriage?
• That perfect Career?
• That perfection as a Project Manager?

You really won't know . Because ,

• Once you have that six pack like Ryan Gosling , you may want the bulging biceps like Channing Tatum.
• Once you become the perfect Project Manager, you may want to become The Perfect Program Manager.
• Once you have done everything in your marriage that you possibly could to maintain peace, there will be an unforeseen incident which will completely change things.

 Your goal posts will change and lead to more anxiety , heart breaks and stress and maybe several other negatives .

And so two questions come to mind :- 

1. Isn't it a lot easier for us to cut ourselves some slack and strive towards being  "good" or "better" at things rather than striving for Perfection?
2. Isn't it a lot easier for us to think in terms of the " Progress" that we are making rather than putting unnecessary pressure on ourselves to be Perfect, when no such thing exists?

I saw three words, on the message board outside my gym this morning "Progress , Not Perfection"  , and It instantly drove home the message as to what I should really focus on , In my life. I should really strive for progress.

In the World of Project Management , PRINCE2™  says that the purpose of the "Progress" Theme, is to Establish mechanisms to:

• monitor and compare actual achievements against those planned;
• to provide a forecast for the project objectives and the project’s continued viability;
• to control any unacceptable deviations.

We can apply the purpose of PRINCE2™ 's "Progress" theme to any of our life's projects , for example:-

• Let's plan to get a good physique, a better physique, not a perfect physique and keep monitoring what we are achieving incrementally every week. Let's give ourselves a pat on the back for each milestone achieved with regards to our physique.
• Let's keep working on our marriage and our objectives to make incremental adjustments in aspects of our relationships that will lead to our happiness. Let's try really hard to see if we are able to maintain the viability of this relationship .
• Let's try to navigate through and control the unacceptable politics and risks in our Project Management career and ups and downs in our marriages to  see if we can achieve success .

We are making sure that by doing the above ,

• Work continues and doesn't stagnate and we are gaining confidence day by day in our methods or changing them to suit circumstances.
• We are moving closer to what we perceive as the end goal .
• We are improving every single day. 
• By patting ourselves on the back for incremental achievements, we are summoning our inner powers to keep working hard and keep giving ourselves tougher challenges to surmount.
• We are keeping an eye on the "prize" but not beating ourselves if there are diversions along the way or there is temporary loss of focus because "life happens".

Once, we are good or better at doing one task, let's give ourselves a more challenging one, and work at  completing it slowly but steadily, learning and making mistakes along the way, yet improving at every step and let's keep progressing and strike off the word "Perfect" from our dictionaries.

(image courtesy : makingprogress.me)