Pursuit of perfection!

Popular french writer, Voltaire’s famous La Bégueule quotes:

Dans ses écrits, un sage Italien, Dit que le mieux est l'ennemi du bien.

It translates to, “In his writings, a wise Italian, says the best is the enemy of the good.”

“Perfect is the enemy of done,” this illustrious saying is most commonly attributed to Voltaire.

Off late, I very much resonate with this quote. I have been so smitten by the idea of perfection that getting things done had been the least of my priorities.

Retracing back to the days when I used to get things done, simply for the sake of it without concerning myself with the quality of the task completed, my dad observed many a times that I had a multifaceted skill-set in a multitude of things, while I lacked the “fine-tuning” to arrive at a perfectly chiseled sculpture.

Years later will I realize that I had misinterpreted the whole idea behind this prompt and neither did anyone help steer my thought process in the right direction.

Somewhere, it instilled a thought within me that I’m not being and doing “enough.”

Gradually, I pursued and sought perfection in everything I did. It was quite arduous and taxing, I must admit. As ideal as it may seem, it came with it’s own pitfalls; to call out the pressing ones – not completing tasks on time and expecting the same perfection from others. The worst downside to it is that a sense of superiority complex tags along in the beginning, while you’re internally burning with all sorts of inferiority complexes.

Personally, it disconcerted me when I realized I was still not feeling “enough,” despite catering to the exacting pursuit of perfection.

C’mon, now how could that be possible? Earlier I felt inadequate because I was not perfect, I didn’t reach the zenith, the vertex. Now I’m pursuing perfection, achieving it all only to feel all the more inadequate?

For most parts, the pursuit led to intangible results in the longer course but most importantly, I couldn’t achieve perfection. I hate to admit it, but that’s the truth. The North Star appeared to be a far-fetched cry.

A person can’t achieve perfection at everything, which fares to be quite practical in my lens.

In the chase for perfection, I started to lose myself, and my authenticity. It mightn’t justify to use such intense terms in this light context. Maybe I’m wrong, but it does seem to be the case, at least in hindsight.

I felt devastated that I’m not “adequate enough.” I didn’t stop writing, but I stopped publishing anything I wrote; I didn’t stop sketching but I refrained myself from completing those sketches half-way through; I didn’t stop drafting content, but I held back from speaking/presenting them; I didn’t stop getting ideas, but I certainly did not execute them.

All in the fear of things not turning out to be perfect, not meeting my very own expectations. The pursuit only intensified and became pure madness – with every step upwards, my expectations stepped up too, at par. Emotions of inadequacy doesn’t stop right there, self-esteem levels droop, self-doubts aggravate, anxiety levels shoot up and you name it.

It might come across as an exaggeration, but before you realize you’ll be spiraling down this deep abyss in the pursuit.

Image credits: Yana Dokuchaeva

Am I saying it’s wrong to seek perfection? No, most certainly not!

There’s a sweet spot between being perfect at things and getting things done just for the record, which is to strive for perfection, but get things done. Aim higher, but settle for what you can; of course, after pushing your best limits.

Please note, “what you can” points at your self-awareness. You should know when to stop pushing, for which it’s indispensable for you to be aware of your capabilities. The Dunning-Kruger effect states that people with low ability at a given task are prone to overestimate their ability at that task and it stands true here, of high novelty. And unconscious incompetence as is the case here, could infinitely lead to downfall. We are all prone to this cognitive bias.

Once you are aware, you will understand that you are abundantly sufficient to destruct all the thoughts of inadequacy while also ensuring that you don’t settle for less by striving for perfection – pushing yourself to do more, except without the pressure. Push your limits but don’t let it blind you from the sprints of getting things done.

I’d like to highlight that, “I failed to understand back in the day that even perfection is tailored, based on your abilities and not pinned to one standard value. Now I have evolved abundantly to understand that the goal is not to reach the North Star; while it shall still be what you strive for, it’ll merely be your guide to the destination.”

– Harini ♠

References:

• Image credits – Yana Dokuchaeva

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