Will you settle for Excellence in 2013?

Hands up if you’re a perfectionist? I am – or rather – I used to be.

I used to think my need to be perfect came from my Father. There are only a few professions where anything less than perfection is completely unacceptable. Pilots and Air Traffic Controllers, for example, don’t have a lot of room for error in their work – my Father enjoyed both professions!

However, I can’t really blame Dad for my perfectionism. I remember him saying instead “I will be proud of you, as long as you do your best”. He never actually asked me to be perfect. I’m the only one who’s ever done that and although, for the most part, I’ve mastered that constraining facet of my personality, occasionally it does re-emerge.

I noticed three mistakes in our newsletter last month after it had gone out. Shock, horror – my initial reaction was to feel mortified. I had failed to be perfect.

Our need to be perfect is connected to how we want others to see us – we want to be liked, respected, valued, loved…..the list goes on. However, rather than assume people will judge me by the mistakes I make, I have learned to assume that they will see the good in what I do instead. This doesn’t mean that no-one will be judging me (or our newsletter!) and if they are, that’s their business. Worrying about it won’t help.

I’ve always been driven to achieve, however I now strive for excellence rather than perfection – not just in the results I aim for but in who I want to be en route to achieving them. By focussing on improving and making the most of the journey, I have gone on to achieve, not only many of the goals I’ve strived for, but also things I never even dreamed of. That’s been the prize for abandoning perfectionism.

Perfectionism is often the cause of procrastination and even stagnation. So many people are afraid to make a change in their life for fear of failure and so do nothing different. They become comfortable in their discomfort. Do you want that to be true of you in 2013? I certainly don’t.

Once you risk failure and take a step forward, you give yourself an opportunity. Ask Kath Grainger whether she would agree it was worth risking failure when she decided to continue towards her dream of an Olympic gold medal in London. The key is to learn from mistakes not dwell on them. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work” said Edison.

These musings helped make the initial reaction to my mistake a distant memory. My preferred stance (and generally one I take more readily these days) is that I’m not settling for mediocrity but I am striving for excellence. In doing so, I stick my head above the parapet, take risks, sometimes make mistakes and, dare I say it, fail.

I see everything I do as an opportunity for learning and growth – whether it’s about the task at hand or my own personal development.

Now I can smile at my mistakes. I do pride myself on having a great eye for detail though. Maybe I need to encourage someone else in my team to proof read the newsletter next time. One of the typos was in a piece about our recent Christmas Networking Event. A colleague reminded me how successful the event had been. Who would remember the details of a piece in a newsletter when they have their experience of a great evening to remember? Good point.

I do still have that initial gut reaction – ouch – when I make a mistake, but it doesn’t last long. I just ask myself; did I at least take action, despite risking failure and did I do my best? For the most part, the answer is yes. Thanks Dad for your words of wisdom.