Giving Up Perfection in favor of excellence
Comments(2) My friend Emily told me that she used to think that she had to do everything perfectly when she was younger. Her flowerbeds were meticulously groomed at all times, her everything was meticulous at all times. She said it was just too much to keep up and it felt empty.
She said that one day, she decided that excellence was good enough for her… hmmmm… doesn’t that sound good? Excellence is good enough… She said it relieved a lot of pressure.
I have a lovely home, a great yard, lots of flower beds, horses… so much 
abundance… I love my world! Yet, if you came to my house in the past, chances are before you got into the kitchen, I would be apologizing for my housekeeping, saying sorry about the chickweed in the garden or feeling inadequate because my lawn needed weed-eating and mowing…
Not anymore… I am taking a life lesson from Emily… My new motto is excellence is good enough for me…
I bite my tongue instead of apologising for anything about the state of my house or environment… I figure if I keep the bathroom spotless, the cups clean, fresh sheets on the guest bed and the majority of the lumps picked up… along with running my business and enjoying my life… it’s all good. In fact… it’s excellent!
What do you think?
Emily is definitely not alone … so many of us have the perfection legacy, and shifting to excellence is something I fully embrace. It’s not always easy to remember, even years later, it is an ongoing challenge. Changing the pattern though is an awesome and empowering experience, and every success with biting my tongue instead of pointing out things by apologizing (for something that most people wouldn’t even notice, and if they do, don’t care that your breakfast dishes are still on the table, for example), is wonderful.
Joyce, thank you for the reminder that excellence is a great standard compared to perfection. May I add this footnote?:
It’s also important for us to remember that more often than not, ‘good’ is a very acceptable standard as well — going for excellence or perfection when good enough will do, can prevent us from things like genuine self-care (such as taking some real time to ourselves), or cuddling up with a child or grandchild reading, and other wonderful relationship honouring and building activities.
I am just becoming aware of the pefectionist in me and just the word “excellence” in this blog has given me a shift in how I feel about perfection.
I will be using the word excellence as well in my day to day life. That you for a new outlook. v…