Progress, Not Perfection

I am a perfectionist at heart. That means that whatever I do - I strive for it to the best that I can do. Sounds good, right? Wrong. The problem is that I can ALWAYS do better - or more. If I'm cleaning the kitchen, I wash dishes, wipes counters, sweep floors, clean the stove top, and done. But there are windows that could be washed, cabinets that could be wiped, and a pantry that could be organized. And this is how my brain works. All the time. About everything. Yeah.

For my children, I have different standards than myself. I tell them constantly "practice does not make perfect". "Practice makes better." We strive to do better, but we are not perfect. "Progress, not perfection" I say to them. Maybe it's time I take my own advice.

As people, we often spend a lot of time looking around at others. Judging their lives, comparing our lives to their lives, and sometimes wishing we had what other people have. Compare. Compare. Compare. Comparing leads to discontent. And that is a 'treadmill' you don't want to get on.

Instead, I challenge myself and each of you to stop looking around you. Focus on your progress. Not perfection. But progress. Better today than I was yesterday. I will compete against myself. Myself of yesterday, last week, last month, and last year.

As a runner, you hear the saying "they are not your competition - you are". PR stands for personal record. When you PR in a race (or a run), it's not about beating someone else. It's about beating your last time or last record. It's about progress.

I think this is how it should be for all of life. Focus on yourself. Not others. No comparing. No looking around. Work each day to make progress for yourself. Be a better version of yourself today. Be stronger. Be more courageous. Be more generous. Be faster. Be smarter. Be wiser. Be kinder. Be healthier. Be more loving.

Progress, not perfection. This is the goal.