Don’t Expect to Be Perfect
OK, so you’re aiming to be the very best at everything. But
what if you fail? So long as you tried, that’s all right. Who have
you ever met who never failed at anything, however small?
Yo u ’ r e a l l o w e d t o b e h u m a n , y o u k n o w. I n f a c t , y o u ’ r e a c t i v e l y
encouraged to be human. Don’t try to set yourself above every-
one else—the rest of us fail from time to time.
If you’re not a perfectionist in any way—sloppy, haphazard,
unorganized, messy, and with a “so what” attitude, please skip
this section. But I hardly know anyone like that. I have a
friend who is a silversmith. His house is a mess, his personal
life is all over the place, but every piece of jewelry he turns out
has to be exactly right. Most of us have some perfectionist ten-
dencies.
My jeweler friend is quite right that every piece of work has to
be perfect (certainly at his prices). If any piece is faulty, he
shouldn’t sell it. But that doesn’t mean that he should beat
himself up for having failed. He can just recognize that not
everything works out and get to work on the next piece.
I can’t stand people who seem perfect. They make me feel
inadequate. And that’s not a nice way to go through life, is it?
Going around making other people feel inadequate. So let’s
have none of it. Let’s all aim to be the best but acknowledge
that it won’t always happen. Just like gemstones, it’s the flaws,
the weaknesses, the imperfections that lend character. A flaw
in a gemstone may detract from its value (though not always),
but it also proves that it’s genuine.