Perfection Archives - Scott's Thinking

Pursuing Perfection At What Cost?

Posted on November 9, 2023

If something is moving along reasonably well, tinkering around with it can make things worse as much as they can make things better.

Progress pushed too far can turn into regress. This can be seen particularly well in social settings. If you try to manufacture the world how you would like to have it run, there may be negative consequences beyond a certain point.

This may be some of the reason why we see political parties in power for four to eight years before they are voted out for the opposing group for a similar amount of time.

You can move a patient and accommodating person quite some way along towards your desired endgame. However, just as you gain confidence that you’ll be able to shift them to the end, they may reach a resistance point. And all the progress you thought you made, might start to unwind.

You may find yourself back where you started. Or, perhaps the momentum will take you back past the starting point to places you wished you’d never disturbed.

So sometimes you may be better off with some good progress and leaving it there. In pursuing perfection, you may pay a much higher cost than you could have imagined.

Action Progress Reframe your thoughts

Seeking Perfection Is Detrimental

Posted on January 20, 2023

If only perfect people can be heroes and have statues built for them, we will have neither. The current push by some for perfect equality, perfect communication and perfect decisions is likely to destroy the humanity in society.

If people get cancelled, excommunicated, destroyed, and expelled for imperfect thoughts, actions and impulses, people will shrink into the shadows and take fewer chances with anything.

Play this out till the ultimate conclusion and there will only be a handful of hypocrites remaining as they wouldn’t dare cancel themselves. If you don’t see the game evolve several moves ahead, you will likely find that checkmate is in your future.

Gratitude Observe Reframe your thoughts

Perfection As The Starting Point

Posted on April 22, 2021

You’re going to be rattled and frustrated if this is how you start each day. It’s definitely a high bar to maintain with perfection as the starting point.

Perfection. Think about that for a minute. Is it possible for everything to be perfect at all times? Do you reach that level every day? Ever? Do tell us in the comments how you do it please, if you do.

By aiming for what many would argue is an impossible standard, you set yourself up for pain and anguish. Creating an expectation that is generally considered impossible, the trouble begins. Reality will rarely meet that lofty expectation. So rather than being grateful for the millions of things going well in your day, you may notice just the near-misses.

If you spend your time noting all of the imperfections in your day, you’re likely to find happiness somewhat elusive. The larger the distance between reality and your expectations, the ER Gap, the more stressful your life is likely to be.

One way to check if you engage in this heightened expectation, is to check your language and joy level. Your ER Gap may be too wide if you are often using words like ‘should’ or ‘shouldn’t’. Or, if you tend to note the things that aren’t going well. Try to notice all the good things that are going well. Those things you take for granted. Like your health, house, partner, children, car, roads, running water, heat, free schools, etc. Find joy.

Start today without perfection as the starting point.