Getting it perfect is overrated. Don’t get me wrong I believe we should strive for excellence in whatever we do but sometimes when you focus so hard on getting something perfect it causes a level of stress that is just not worth it.
I read an article in Golf Digest a long time ago where Jack Nicklaus was giving advice on how to make the long putts. His advice was so weird. He said don’t aim for the hole. Too often when you focus on the hole, you over think your swing and hit it too soft or way too hard. He said to draw a circle 1-3 feet around the hole in your mind and aim for that. Ironically, you will get it in the hole more often than you did when aiming for the hole itself.
When we aim for perfection in everything we do, it sets us up for disappointment and burn out. Now don’t get me wrong I am not talking about not aiming for excellence. I’m talking about perfection. Chickfila aims for excellence but they don’t deny every now and then they give out a lemonade instead of a diet coke. We must give ourselves room for error. We must give ourselves room for unexpected delays and unexpected results.
We need to widen the circle. How?
- Be careful with deadlines, don’t allow the success or failure of your plan be hung on a deadline. Give yourself some room when you can.
- Don’t overreact to success or failure. If it was a good idea, it is still a good idea. Learn from trends not isolated events.
- Imagine it is the day after the event, what do you imagine you missed or forgot.
Just some things that I am working on. What do you think?
Sean Rheaume 