Strive For Excellence, Not Perfection!

Some years ago while on active duty in the Air Force, I was selected to attend the Non Commissioned Officers Academy.  It was an intensive regimen of leadership academics, military studies, physical training and team building.

At the onset of the course, our senior instructor, an eloquently speaking Senior Master Sergeant with a razor-sharp uniform and demeanor stood in front of our group and said, "Everyone wants to know but nobody asks, what do I have to do to graduate?"  He went on to say, "I won't lie to you, this course is tough and it was designed that way.  To trip you up?  No.  To toughen you up."

As he stood there with posture so rigid I could tell it was natural for him, he said, "Ladies and gents, when you boil it all down, there's really only one way to succeed and graduate--Strive for excellence, not perfection."  With that he nodded at our group, executed a left face and marched out of the classroom.

I had to admit, I didn't know what he meant by that comment.  I mean, who doesn't strive to be perfect?  I know I sure did.  Everyone I knew did, too.  I jotted that phrase on the cover of my notebook and looked at it every day for 6 weeks.

As the class evolved, that same Senior Master Sergeant would be in our class, either teaching a leadership topic or proctoring one of a gazillion exams.  He always--ALWAYS opened and closed his comments with, "Remember: Strive for excellence, not perfection."

I meditated that gem over and over until it had taken root inside me.  Unbeknownst to me, over time it became the very fabric of me as a leader, and dare I say, as a person.  I discovered during the course of my daily life, being excellent was much more impactful than constantly chasing perfection.

So what's the difference between excellence and perfection.  In simple terms, excellence is attainable--and nearly everyone will recognize it.  Perfection is not really attainable and is viewed differently by each beholder.  Let's say for example, my opinion of the "perfect" car is the C7 Corvette.  Very few reading this will agree with me, yet I think it's "perfect."  Another person might judge a 1978 Ford Pinto as a "perfect" car and others would disagree.  So you see, perfection is elusive, fleeting, subject to opinion and widely unattainable by the masses. Excellence, on the other hand, produces amazing results, while perfection is mostly a concept and really produces nothing.

So why are we so driven to be perfect?  We need to be the perfect husband, boyfriend, job candidate, golfer, and the list is endless.  We spend so much of our time and energy chasing the perfect car, house, job, mate, technology, we often lose the "excellent" quality of our lives in the process.

Imagine the (overused) visual of the iceberg floating in the water.  Above the surface, we see maybe about ten percent of the ice mass.  The ninety percent below the water's surface is what remains a mystery.  That's the way we are--all of us.  We only show the most "perfect" ten percent we want people to see and intentionally hide the "imperfect ninety percent," even though much of that ninety percent is "excellent" by any measure.

We're so determined to demonstrate perfection in every facet of our existence.  We portray our "perfect" lives on Facebook, we fashion our resumes to articulate  "perfect" professional success, we take "perfect" vacations and on and on...

The dynamic I've described has ensnared most of us at one time or another, or maybe that's how some of us still live everyday.  "Never let them see any chinks in your armor."  "Never let them see you sweat."  If we were to stop and think about the "metric ton" of self-help articles we see even here on LinkedIn Every. Single. Day, we'd realize we're trying to achieve perfection.  Folks, that's simply unrealistic, frustrating and leads to disappointment of historic proportion.

If we could instead, hold our self to a personal and professional standard of "excellence," we'd be set free of the undue pressure our environment places on us every minute of every day.  We're better than perfection.  We're excellent.  We produce results and what we do matters.

So go ahead, dare to be that rebellious iceberg that shows off a bit more of the good stuff that makes you, well, you!  Think of it in a practical way: If you're seeking a particular position you may think is the "perfect" job and you have to be "perfect" to get it, move on--it's not the job for you.  Who wants to work for a boss or a company that demands perfection to land the job, but then perform perfectly everyday?  Likewise, if you're seeking the "perfect" mate and you have to be "perfect" to seal the deal--move on.  In both cases, you'll be "found out" soon enough, so don't waste your precious emotional capital on them. 

Wouldn't it be better to land an "excellent" job that produces excitement, purpose and happiness while you are producing "excellent" results?"  Apply this logic to virtually every area of your life and you'll discover, like I did in that long-ago classroom, you'll be living an "excellent" life that you are proud of and is producing "excellent" results.

"Strive For Excellence, Not Perfection."